


Nine-Tenths of the Law

by EmmaOverland



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, HiJack March Madness 2016, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-05-28 07:12:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 30,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6319696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaOverland/pseuds/EmmaOverland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>All right so these are the ones I've got so far for HiJack March Madness on Tumblr</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All right so these are the ones I've got so far for HiJack March Madness on Tumblr

The simplicity was really almost embarrassing. Jack stood with his hands in his hoodie pockets, glancing around as if just another curious museum patron. Blue eyes flickered from each camera to the guards and he smirked slightly. He’d been watching this place for weeks now. The exhibit would be moving tomorrow, he’d have to go in tonight and get what he was after. He glanced at his phone, the little symbols would be confusing to anyone who didn’t understand but to Jack they made perfect sense. He smirked slightly and then glanced around.

“Zone…one.” He punched in a code and seconds later the alarm went off loudly in another part of the museum.

Immediately people began to grow uneasy and the patrons currently in the area with him began to file out in a panicked rush while the museum security directed. Jack set another alarm off further away and grinned as his ever-watchful guards seemed torn between going to assist or to wait until they heard further notice. Another code and the headsets broke into ear-piercing tones, causing most of the men wearing them to yank them from their heads. One more code and a third alarm and in the chaos he was able to get close to the small statute he’d been eyeing.

A movement of practiced hands and the case was opened, the alarm having already been turned off with the first distraction. He stayed low and grabbed the Assyrian Deity before swapping it out with a statue of a lucky cat before tucking her away carefully. There were too many people to really cause him trouble and once the case was locked and put in his bag, Jack slipped out with the rest of the crowds as the sirens of police and fire trucks were heard over the various conversations of the patrons and spectators.

He didn’t linger and instead beat a hasty retreat. He hadn’t gotten more than a block away when a car pulled up beside him and Jack found himself more or less manhandled into the sleek vehicle. He didn’t know why they always did it this way. He’d never backed on them before, unlike some people he knew. Still he was forced into a seat at the far end of the car, which was really more like a stretch limo, and found himself staring down the man who was more or less an employer.

Nothing was said, nothing needed to be said. Jack slid the bag from his back and dropped it on the floor before reaching into it and pulling out the heavy case which protected the damn thing he’d been sent to collect. He handed to the large man sitting next to him and watched as the case was passed around to the man in the white suit. Jack had no clue what his real name was, only that Flynn had said to never make any deals with him.

“A pleasure doing business Mr. Frost.” the man said with a small grin once the case was opened.

A thick envelope was passed back to him and Jack glanced inside before nodding. Deal done, time to go until the next time. He hid the envelope into a secret pocket of his bag and was calmly let out at the next street.

“Remember Mr. Frost…”

“Don’t know who you are. Never seen you before. You just were nice enough to give me a ride.” Jack muttered before sliding out of the car.

The door shut with a heavy slam and Jack grinned. Another job done and done. He attached his bag firmly to his back and shoved his hands into the hoodie pocket before shuffling off down the street. He wasn’t stupid when he heard footsteps behind him, they’d been following him for a while. He stopped for a moment and turned around to face the three guys following him.

“How much you charge?” the one in the middle asked boldly.

 

xXx

 

“Last one Haddock.”

Hiccup glanced up and nodded as he took the chart from the nurse then stepped into the room in the small clinic. “So then, Mr. Frost…seems you got into a bit of scuffle.”

Jack scoffed but said nothing from where he sat on the stupid noisy paper covered bench. He glared at the alarmingly young man standing in front of him. “It’s nothing, I just need to make sure I can bandage this and go. The nurse wouldn’t tell me if I needed this stitched or not.”

For the first time since entering the room Hiccup looked up from the paperwork to find himself surprised by the man sitting before him. He hadn’t expected such an intense gaze from the man, who really was little more than a kid before him. He was sitting still but holding his arm, ignoring the blood that was dripping down his arm.

“Let’s get the bleeding to stop and I’ll take a look at it.” Hiccup muttered before grabbing what he’d need. “This may sting.”

“Whatever.” Jack muttered moodily, but dutifully held his arm up.

Hiccup said nothing for a moment as he carefully cleaned up the long cut across Jack’s arm. “Do I want to see the other guy?”

Jack grinned slightly despite his attempts to remain surly. It just wasn’t in his nature. “You can visit them in the ER. I just didn’t want to freak out my sister with this thing.”

“I see.” Hiccup said with a small nod. Green eyes trained back to his cleaning and after a moment or two he examined the cut on the arm. “Good news, doesn’t look like it’ll require stitches. So let’s get you bandaged up and then back home to your sister.”

Jack nodded and remained still, alarmingly still while Hiccup worked on bandaging the cut. It wasn’t deep but it was long so it took a few minutes. Hiccup was quiet but effective in his movements, keeping an eye on Jack while he worked. The kid was pale but he wasn’t sure if it was related to the cut or his natural coloring. His file hadn’t been very forth coming with information except that he’d been in and out of this clinic for years.

“There you go.” Hiccup stated, leaning back in his seat. “Now, just stay out of trouble.”

Jack barked a laugh as he got to his feet, making a small face when his elbow cracked as he extended it, having been holding it bent against himself for the last while. He grabbed his stuff and took the paper Hiccup handed him to take out to the receptionist. “Tell the sun to stop shining, you might find that easier.”

Hiccup chuckled a bit as Jack darted out of the room with his things in hand. He heard the young man greet Sally in a familiar manner and question about her kids. Clearly the people here knew this kid. The young nurse glanced down at the file in hand for a moment before shaking his head. Hopefully he wouldn’t see Jack Frost again.


	2. Adventure

“We’re going on an adventure!”

“It’s not an adventure, we’re going to the store. Actually we’re in the store.”

Hiccup’s head jerked up from the book he was reading. He knew that voice! He turned slightly, trying to see where it had come from and immediately found what he was looking for. There was that kid again! Jack Frost stood near the door looking around, a girl beside him and anxiously tugging at his arm and pointing almost wildly toward the back of the store. Jack was in another hoodie, this one red in color with something written on it but he couldn’t tell from the angle he was at. He shook his head and turned back to the book in front of him.

“Come on!” the girl urged.

Jack sighed and nodded. “All right, chill kid.”

“Hey Emma, hey Jack.” the cheerful girl setting up a display greeted.

“Hi Anna!” Emma chirped as she bounced next to her brother.

Hiccup couldn’t help but let his gaze drift away from the text that he was supposed to be reading to watch Jack and his sister. The white haired male was still favoring his left arm it seemed, but then he’d only just seen him a day ago. It was understandable that the cut would still be tender.

“How you feeling today Emma?” Anna asked as she stood up and brushed her legs off.

Emma smiled even as she burrowed further into the yellow hoodie she wore, also sporting something in white on it, before nodding softly. “Better. We’re here to get a book! Jack promised me a new one if I did well on my test.”

Anna smiled and nodded. “And how well did you do?”

“Top score!” Emma gushed excitedly, tugging lightly on Jack’s arm, missing the controlled grimace on his face. “So we’re here to get something new.”

“Nerd.” Jack muttered affectionately, ruffling the girl’s hair.

Emma huffed and swatted at him before turning bright eyes up to look at Anna. “I need Howl’s Moving Castle. But is it in the kid section?”

“Going for the Howl series hm?” Anna repeated, shooting a small look toward Jack. “Nope it’s young-adult, author’s last name is Jones.”

Emma looked up curiously at her brother and he nodded off toward the section before letting go of her hand. The bookstore was a cozy little thing so he wasn’t worried about someone carting his sister off. Besides, the last person who had tried ended up in the hospital because she’d bitten him hard enough to draw blood. Jack made his way over to get a coffee and wait for the girl to return with her treasure. Hiccup had turned back to his book but the feeling of eyes on him had him lifting his head, to look at Jack who was staring at him with a grin.

“Thought I recognized that hair.” Jack stated conversationally, a small grin on his face.

Hiccup leaned back in his seat slightly, stretching out his back. “My hair? You should see yours.”

“My hair is bitchin’ fabulous.” Jack muttered before laughing when Hiccup rolled his eyes. “So what are you doing Mr. Nurse?”

“I was reading.” he stated, motioning to the heavy book spread out on the table. “But then this weirdo in a hoodie started to bug me.”

“With fabulous hair.” Jack stated. “A weirdo with fabulous hair.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes before letting his gaze linger on the black hoodie blinking slightly. Angel Grove High School was written above a picture of a T-Rex head with EST 1993 on either side and J. Scott Athletics Dept. under that. He stared a moment longer before glancing back up at Jack’s face, ignoring the lifted eyebrow.

“How’s your arm?” he asked instead.

Jack blinked a few times then shrugged. “Tender as hell especially when the chimp hangs on me.”

Hiccup nodded in understanding. “You can take things like ibuprofen or acetaminophen for it.”

“Oh yes, please, continue to talk med-nerd to me.” Jack drawled in a terribly bored manner then took a sip of his coffee, smiling behind his cup.

“Ja-ack!” Emma called before rounding the bookshelf that lined the small seating area. “There you are! I found my book.”

Hiccup glanced over at the girl, his attention drawn to her hoodie. It matched Jack’s expect that it was yellow and had a Sabretooth tiger on it with T. Kawn where the name would be. Nerds the both of them. She was staring at him in surprise, large brown eyes almost hesitant in their assessment. He offered a small smile and after a moment she returned it before reaching out to grab onto Jack’s sleeve.

“Looks like it’s my time to go.” Jack stated, glancing down at his sister for a moment. “See ya around Mr. Nurse.”

Before Hiccup could correct him or even give him a name, Jack had taken his sister’s hand and led her over to the register to purchase her book. Emma glanced over her shoulder back at Hiccup and gave him a wave which he returned a bit awkwardly as they left the shop. Well, that was…interesting.


	3. Bulbous

A familiar chime filled the air and Jack paused before pulling out his phone. He blinked at the word before tucking his phone into his pocket and moving from where he was lounging in the living room to plop down at his computer. He pulled up the word in the trusty google and frowned. It was, an ugly little statue looking thing. Jack tilted his head and frowned again. The image showed a small bulbous figure that made Jack think of the Radish Spirit from that weird show Emma watched…only squished down to be a small thing. The hell was he looking at?

It was some sort of deity; he knew that much. But the question was, where did this rare piece rest? A bit more snooping gave him his answer. Damn, personal collection…Jack rubbed a hand over his face. He wasn’t looking forward to that one. He scrolled through the information and felt an uneasy weight settle in his stomach. Who wanted this stupid statue-medallion thing that badly? He did a bit more research on the person holding the prize before looking back at the number that had sent the request. It wasn’t one of his previous clients, but this was his work phone so…He sent back a simple $ and waited. How much was this man willing to spend to get this thing?

The price that came back made him nearly choke on his soda and it drew Emma’s attention from her book. “Jack?”

“Mm, okay!” he called back as he set down the can.

That was a hefty price for such an ugly little plant looking thing. Still was the hideous bulbous mandrake god-thing worth it? He knew who had it, been to his place more than once actually. He was a dealer in antiques and an evil villain in the making if Jack had ever seen one. The guy was one lab accident away from it actually. Jack’s leg started to shake slightly at the thought of getting in that place again, a nervous twitch he’d never been able to break.

Decisions, decisions…

 

xXx

 

Hiccup was vaguely aware that something wasn’t right. He had a feeling that wouldn’t leave him alone as he climbed the stairs of his apartment. A soft sound of pain made him stop and he turned slightly, moving down the steps again before coming to a stop.

“Someone there?” he questioned, squinting into the darkness.

A laugh sounded from the bench, sounded oddly familiar. “Son of a bitch, you’re kidding.” Now that was familiar.

“Jack?” Hiccup prompted, following the wheezy breathing. He came to a stop at the bench along the side of the apartment building where Jack was sitting, slightly hunched over and holding his side. “What the hell happened to you? And what are you doing here?”

“Live here…” Jack mumbled, his head drooping slightly.

Hiccup crouched down in front of Jack and pulled a small flashlight from his pocket, clicking it on the directing the small light to Jack’s face. Jack winced at the sudden bright light in his face and tried to look away. Hiccup swore under his breath as he took in the visible damage. Jack was sporting a nice shiner and split lip but it was the way he was hunched in on himself that made Hiccup worried. That was usually a bad sign.

“What happened?” he asked again, easing Jack into sitting back.

Jack shook his head slightly only to make a pained sound. “Disagreement at work.”

“Come on, let’s get you inside so I can take a look at you.” Hiccup coaxed. “You said you live here?” At Jack’s nod he frowned. “I’ve never seen you around before, what apartment number are you in?”

“Uh, 195.” Jack mumbled after a moment, wincing and letting out another pained sound as Hiccup helped him to his feet.

They took the stairs carefully, one step at a time up to the second floor where the apartments actually started. In silence he moved down the hall to 195 and glanced at Jack curiously. The white haired young man groped his pockets for a moment before pulling out a key and unlocking the door. Emma stood there waiting before gasping. She didn’t need to see this.

“Jack!” she exclaimed, reaching out but not touching as Hiccup helped him hobble into the apartment and over to the dining room table. “What happened?”

“You should be in bed.” Jack said as he was sat down in one of the chairs. “I’m fine Emma, go on. Go back to bed.”

She hovered anxiously and looked worriedly back and forth between Hiccup and Jack. “But…”

“Emma, will you get me a bowl of water and some wash cloths. I’ll be right back.” Hiccup urged and then smiled when the girl nodded and hurried over to the kitchen. “Jack, don’t move and don’t fall asleep. I’m gonna grab my bag from the apartment.”

Jack mumbled something but sat up straight and forced himself to stay awake, listening to Emma move around in the kitchen behind him. Hiccup ducked out of the apartment and was quick to head up the stairs and into his own place. He grabbed his emergency bag from where it sat in the hall closet and after locking his apartment door came back to check on the siblings. Emma was hovering again, her eyes wide and glassy.

“Hey kiddo,” Hiccup greeted as he came back, distracting the girl for a moment. “I’ve got him now, thanks for your help. Go on, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

The brunette girl hesitated a moment longer before nodding slowly and retreating to her room. The door shut softly and Hiccup sighed before turning back to Jack. He shrugged out of his coat and helped Jack remove his hoodie and tee-shirt underneath before flipping on the overhead light. There was purpling along Jack’s side and Hiccup winced. He’d recognize boot marks anywhere.

Suddenly Jack chuckled. “If you wanted to see me without a shirt on, you could have asked.”

Hiccup only felt mildly better when he pressed his thumb hard against one of the bruises away from Jack’s ribs and made the younger man hiss in pain.


	4. Chance

Emma kept on the jungle gym while Jack sat on a park bench not far from the girl. She’d been told he was meeting some people from work and that she wasn’t allowed to come over until Jack came for her. Still, she didn’t know why her brother met people in person so often, was it normal for a graphic designer to do that? It was probably one of the most cliché meeting places but they claim things are cliché because they work. He fingered the flashdrive in his pocket for a moment before crossing his arms over his chest. He didn’t like meeting here but he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. After a few minutes someone sat beside him and Jack glanced over at the man.

He sat staring up at the clouds in a jogging suit. However, Jack could tell he was aware of Jack’s presence, hyper aware of the world around him. The man put his hand out and Jack eyed him for a moment. There was a heavy sigh and the man produced a small envelope which he handed over when Jack took it wordlessly. A quick count and Jack shoved the money into his hoodie pocket before dropping the flashdrive into the outstretched palm.

There was a long moment of silence before the man got up and shoved the flashdrive into his pocket and took off continuing on his jog. Jack rolled his eyes, some people were really stupid. As if that wasn’t suspicious. He turned his attention back to his sister and continued to watch her for a while longer, giving them extra time to be safer. It was near lunch when he decided it was time to get going.

“Come on Emma!” he called as he stood up.

She giggled. “Coming!”

Soon the girl was beside him holding his hand as they walked down the street. Emma was yammering on excitedly, bouncing along beside her brother without a care in the world. Jack wished he was that carefree again.

“It’s Hiccup!” Emma said suddenly, pointing wildly ahead of them.

Jack glanced up and blinked several times. Sure enough there was Hiccup, looking over a newspaper with a frown on his face. Seriously? Who bought newspapers…who had newspaper stands anymore? These people apparently.

“Hiccup!” Emma called as they got closer to the nurse.

There was a long moment before Hiccup lifted his head and blinked curiously, trying to figure out who’d called his name. Soon enough he caught sight of Emma and her brother and smiled. It’d been nearly two months since he’d found the younger man outside their complex, and he still didn’t have any answers. “Hey you two.”

“Hiccup.” Jack greeted with a nod as Emma released her brother’s hand and more or less demanded to be picked up by Hiccup.

He lifted her up easily and settled her onto his hip like an overgrown toddler. “How are you feeling?”

Jack nodded slightly. “I’m good. No more pain.”

Hiccup nodded and the two entered into an awkward silence, neither sure what to say. Emma frowned before looking at Jack. “Lunch, big brother.”

“Yeah, I hear you ya bottomless pit.” Jack muttered with a fond shake of his head.

“Hiccy, have you lunched yet?” Emma asked, wrapping her arms around Hiccup’s neck and looking rather comfortable.

Hiccup blinked at the nickname and then shrugged absently when he caught Jack’s gaze. “Nah, but I’m good.”

Emma grinned slightly. “I thought you were a doctor person.”

“I’m technically a nurse.” Hiccup corrected with a frown.

“So shouldn’t you tell me not to skip meals? Isn’t that bad for you?” Emma prodded causing Jack to burst into a sudden laugh.

Hiccup sighed. “That’s true, you aren’t supposed to skip meals.”

Emma nodded wisely and then grinned as she laid her head on his shoulder. “Then you can come lunch with us.”

“Emma, you can’t just bug people into having lunch with us.” Jack stated with a shake of his head.

“Yes I can. Hiccy has to come to lunch.” Emma declared, a mutinous look on her face as if daring either man to tell her no.

Jack sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Hiccup, do you mind being kidnapped to lunch? She’ll be a monster the rest of the day if I don’t at least ask.”

Hiccup chuckled a bit and jostled the girl in his arms long enough to grab his phone and shoot a quick text to someone before nodding. “Well then, I guess I have to be a good hostage and go to lunch with you two.”

The picked a place not far and had a nice time, Emma doing most of the talking for them as they ate. Soon however Hiccup begged leave for work and was released from custody only after promising to come over and play board games with them soon. Emma sat watching her brother for a moment before giggling.

“What?” Jack asked curiously.

“Are you gonna ask him out again?” Emma prompted, blinking when Jack choked on his water.

He stared at the girl once the coughing died down. “Why would you assume something like that? Where did you even get that idea?”

She shrugged slightly as she stabbed at her carrot slices. “You should give him a chance.”

“A chance?”

“Yeah! A chance with us.”

“…with us?”

Emma sighed as if she were talking to a frustrating child. “Yeeeeees. A chance with us to be a family. You could get married to him.”

This set Jack into another fit of coughing.


	5. Dust

Hiccup glanced up as he stepped out of the apartment, he could hear Emma in the hall down one floor yelling at her brother about something.

“You let it get dusty! Jack! You were supposed to protect it!” she yelled, shaking his arm slightly.

Jack sighed. “I didn’t know the bag I put it in was going to open in the storage unit.”

The nurse frowned slightly and made his way down the stairs to the floor below and blinked at the two siblings that were standing just down the hall in front of their own door. Emma was standing beside her brother, looking rather like she was about to start crying and Jack was messing with his keys.

“It’s ruined!” she wailed suddenly.

Jack rolled his eyes. “It is not ruined Emma, I’ll use the can of air and it’ll be as good as new. And then you can put it in your bedroom again.”

“Ruined!” Emma exclaimed before all but throwing herself down onto the floor dramatically.

Hiccup covered his mouth to keep from laughing as Jack groaned and let his forehead hit the door rather roughly. His sister refused to move from where she was lying on the concrete ground, instead choosing to sniffle dramatically and whine that whatever the thing in Jack’s hand was, was ruined. Jack, instead of dealing with his sister, was beating his head against the green painted door and Hiccup couldn’t contain the laughter anymore. The two siblings jumped slightly, startled that someone had seen their dramatics other than each other.

Emma sat up quickly. “Hiccup!”

“Why are you on the floor?” he asked as he managed to collect himself enough to be heard.

The brunette child scrambled to her feet and threw herself into his legs, looking up at him with large watery eyes. “Jack’s a horrible mean brother who let my box get dusty!”

“It was in a bag in a box in storage for two years Emma!” Jack sputtered indignantly.

Emma glared from where she clung stubbornly to Hiccup’s legs. “Dust Jack! You let it get dusty!”

Jack rolled his eyes again. “Stop being so dramatic, Emma. It’s a damned music box. I’ll dust it off and it’ll be good as new. Or would you rather the good nurse do it, since I’m so horrible?”

Hiccup glared at Jack slightly for pulling him into the middle of their squabble. Still, it was rather entertaining to see them fighting like children. A strange endearing quality to their childish actions. Still those large honey eyes turned to him imploringly.

“Fix it Hiccy?” she begged with a pout.

“That pout should be illegal.” Hiccup muttered before stooping down and gathering Emma into his arms. “All right, let’s see what the damage is.”

“There is no damage.” Jack hissed as he let them all into the apartment. “It’s just dust.”

“DUST JACK!” Emma exclaimed. “Dust is gross! Do you know what’s in dust!”

Jack’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Dead bunnies and skin cells.”

Emma gasped as if scandalized and tears filled her eyes. “Don’t kill bunnies Jack!”

The white haired man rolled his eyes and dropped the music box and bag onto the dining table, ignoring his sister’s dramatics. Honestly, he was going to prevent her from going to Lilo’s if this was how she was going to act…or maybe she picked it up from Vanellope. He wasn’t sure, but it had to be one of them. Hiccup set Emma down in one of the chairs and opened the bag before pulling out a small music box that was indeed a bit dusty. It wasn’t as bad as Emma had made it sound, which is probably why it exasperated her brother so much.

Hiccup jumped when Jack angrily slammed down a can of air on the table and walked away with another huff, pulling his hoodie off in the process. Green eyes followed his movements before turning back to the ‘patient’ on the table. Emma got to her knees and watched as Hiccup carefully blew the dust off the small object with the can of air that Jack had provided. Barely two minutes later it was as good as new and he handed it over to Emma who cheered before twisting the key on the bottom and falling silent as a soothing piano tune filled the air.

Emma raced out of the room and disappeared down the hall while Hiccup stood awkwardly in the dining room. He glanced around and found Jack sitting at a rather nice computer, his long legs pulled up onto the seat with him.

“She acts like I’ve committed some great crime.” Jack muttered. “It’s dust. And her stupid music box wasn’t even as dusty as…”

Hiccup met his gaze and tilted his head slightly. “As dusty as other things?”

Jack nodded slightly. “But it was our mother’s so, I guess Emma feels like because we neglected it, we’re neglecting mum.”

Hiccup nodded in understanding as he pushed his hands into his pockets. “Hard to say what goes through kids minds these days.”

“You got any siblings?” Jack asked after a moment or two.

“Nope, only child.” Hiccup answered with a small shake of his head. “There were days I used to wish I had a sibling or two but my family was big enough and my cousins drove me crazy. So really it was like I already had siblings.”

Jack chuckled a bit and nodded. “Yeah, some days when I was younger and dumb I used to wish I was an only child. But now that I’ve got Emma and I’m responsible for her, I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world. Even if she throws a fit about some dust and acts like the most dramatic child in the world.”


	6. Enter

It was Friday night and thus is was game night at the Frost house. Hiccup had three boxes of pizzas and was making his way to the door when he could hear the music. Seemed like the extra guests had already arrived. He knocked on the door as best as he could with his arms full of grocery bags. The door opened a crack and two heads popped out, Hiro on the bottom with Emma on his back.

“Who goes there?” Hiro asked.

Emma grinned. “Hiya Hiccy!”

Hiro reached up and poked the girl above him. “Hush.” He eyed the confused man standing there. “Okay what’s the password?”

“Come on you two, let me in.” Hiccup muttered with a frown.

Emma looked down at Hiro as he made a thoughtful noise. “Is that the password?” He glanced up at Emma curiously. “Sounds good.”

Hiccup sighed again. “Really?”

“Really!” Emma chirped as she wrapped her arms around Hiro’s neck and giggled. “That’s it! That’s the password!”

The two moved aside and let Hiccup in even as Hiro frowned at the girl on his back. “I don’t know if that’s the password or not, I’m so confused.”

Jack glanced up and grinned when Hiccup came into the kitchen with him. “I see the demons let you in.”

“Are they barring entrance for everyone?” Hiccup asked as he set down the bags and boxes on the counter.

Jack nodded. “Pretty much. My password was Enter apparently…of course that was too easy. No, instead I had to say Amdun.”

When Hiccup just stared at him Jack shook his head dismissively and waved his hand while pouring starbursts into a large bowl. The two worked silently in the kitchen until cheers were heard from the front room again. And then a third voice was heard and Jack nodded.

“That’d be Jamie.” he muttered with a small shake of his head. “Tonight is gonna be chaotic, you sure you want to subject yourself to that?”

Hiccup grinned and bumped Jack’s shoulder with his own. “Nothing I can’t handle. If I can do rounds in the ER then I can help handle these kids.”

Jack laughed. “Your funeral.”

The evening was, insane at best and downright terrifying at worst. Who knew kids had that much energy. Hiccup collapsed onto the couch next to Jack and grunted when the younger man leaned against him, practically landing in his lap. Well that wasn’t entirely untrue, Jack’s head was resting against his thigh. They were completely exhausted.

“You do that every Friday?” he asked tiredly.

Jack made a small noise. “It’s usually not this bad because the boys only come over on occasion.”

Hiccup absently let his fingers run through Jack’s hair as he looked at the three children sprawled out asleep amongst piles of pillows and blankets. It was rather cute that Hiro and Jamie had seemingly subconsciously picked either side of Emma and were facing her while Emma was sprawled in the middle of the two, a stuffed bear in her hands seeming content where she was. The telly was still on but the volume was low enough that they couldn’t make out what was being said, the children having spent the last hour making up words for the events happening on the screen instead before they all passed out.

“It’s nice to see them having fun though.” Hiccup said after a moment.

Jack hummed in agreement but didn’t say anything as he silently enjoyed the petting he was getting. After a moment though he broke the silence. “They’ll be zombies in the morning, it’s kinda funny when they finally wake up.”

“I bet.” Hiccup murmured, his fingers still carding through the deceptively soft hair as his disposal.

Silence fell between them and Hiccup found himself watching the TV for a little longer before shifting slightly. He glanced down at Jack and felt himself freeze, unwilling to disturb the younger man who had apparently fallen asleep, or was very close to it. He hesitated for a moment then reached out and began to pet snow colored hair again.

“That’s nice.” Jack mumbled, his words slurring together.

Hiccup merely smiled before glancing down. “What’s amdun?”

Jack yawned and shifted, his eyes slipping shut. “Mm enter.”

“In what language?”

There was a soft sound and Jack snuggled further against him. “Khuzdul…”

Hiccup chuckled and absently rubbed at Jack’s temple, pushing him further into sleep. He watched the younger man’s breathing even out and smiled softly. He wasn’t going to move now, not with Jack sleeping peacefully and looking misleadingly innocent in the glow of the telly.

“Nerd.” Hiccup muttered affectionately as he reached up to grab the blanket from the back of the couch and cover Jack with it.


	7. Festival

“Why isn’t Hiccup here?” Emma prodded again, leaning over the back of the couch to watch her brother.

Jack glanced over at the girl for a moment and shrugged. “Because his life doesn’t revolve around you?”

She glared and threw a pillow at him. “Meanie! Give me a real reason jerkface.”

“I don’t know. He had some medical something or other to go to.” Jack muttered, grunting when the pillow hit him in the back as he turned back to his computer. “It was a big thing for medical people, I don’t know.”

“You said that twice.” Emma pointed out before bouncing slightly on the couch. “Exclusive? Like a club meeting? Oh is it a party?”

Jack snorted and shook his head. “Didn’t sound like fun the way Hiccup explained it. I think it’s more like a work conference, or something.”

“Oh…” Emma fell silent and this seemed to appease the girl for now. She slid from the couch and padded over to the stereo, turning it on and sitting on the floor as classical music poured from the speakers. “Hey, he’ll be back for the recital though, right?”

Blue eyes flickered to the clock in the corner of the computer screen before Jack turned to look at his sister. He watched her stretch for a few minutes and then nodded. “Sure, he promised didn’t he?” Jack sighed and got to his feet then moved over to his sister and pulled her hands above her head slightly to make her stand straighter. “Point your toes Emma.”

Emma grinned up at her brother and took a deep breath as she rocked up onto the balls of her feet and then further up onto her toes, holding it for a few seconds before rocking back and wincing. “That hurts.”

“It’s gonna.” Jack agreed with a small nod before extending his hand out. “Come on then, leg up.”

Emma nodded and easily stretched herself to put her foot up into Jack’s hand and leaned into the movement slightly before Jack let her go and she repeated the motion with the other leg. He helped her through a few different things, always tapping her foot.

“Toes pointed Emma.” he reminded softly.

“Sorry.” she murmured.

Jack’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You normally don’t forget the basics. What’s going on?”

Emma sighed and straightened up when Jack released her foot. “I’m distracted. I really hope Hiccup will be able to come. And I’m just worried that this won’t go well. I haven’t…”

“Don’t doubt yourself. Go get your shoes, we’ll work on your pointes.” Jack murmured, nodding toward the hallway.

She nodded and hurried off to get her shoes, coming back into the living room to sit on the couch and tie them on. Jack had already moved the coffee table and was standing by the stereo and scrolling through the different songs on an ipod. Emma smiled at the familiar clicking sound as the songs went by before standing up. Jack nodded and pressed play, a small grin on his face. Bond wasn’t something most people practiced pointe with, it was too fast moving but he found the faster beats kept his sister’s mind focused when she went over basics steps. The routine was something simple, suited to her age group, he honestly couldn’t remember what the instructor was calling it anymore.

“All right Emma, you know the paces. Just go for it.” Jack stated as he sat down on the floor to watch his sister’s movements.

They were silent as Emma went through the different movements with an ease of familiarity. Releve then rise then pique…repeat, repeat, repeat. A knock on the door drew Jack away but Emma continued to go through the motions, unconventional probably but she was a stubborn child.

“Come in, just watch out for twinkle-toes over there.” Jack greeted with a small nod toward his sister.

Hiccup stepped into the apartment and frowned slightly before following Jack’s line-of-sight to Emma. She didn’t seem to notice the new guest as she worked until Jack stopped the music and she blinked several times.

“Time to stop, take the shoes off and give yourself a break. You’ve got company.” Jack stated.

Emma turned, rising onto her toes and then grinned as her gaze came to fall on Hiccup. He offered a small wave then followed Jack over to the dining room table. They seemed to stay there more often than not. They were joined shortly by Emma who’d dutifully removed her shoes and she climbed onto the table.

“Are you done at your doctor party Hiccup?” she asked before eagerly biting in the fresh baked scone that Hiccup had brought as bribes.

He chuckled and nodded. “It wasn’t a party. It was really boring. Adult work stuff.”

Jack watched them chat back and forth and smiled slightly. Hiccup was asking Emma questions about her dancing and what she wanted to do with herself, where she wanted to go with it. Rather mature questions but Emma was firm in her resolve.

“I want to go to the Festival Interna—“ she turned to her brother for help.

Jack grinned slightly. “Festival Internacional de Ballet de la Habana.”

Hiccup blinked several times. “The what?”

Emma giggled. “It’s a big thing in the dance world. I told Jack we should move to Cuba, where it takes place. The festival is huge…not like Carnaval huge but…” She shrugged a bit. “I want to go and represent dance, since it’s an international thing.”

Hiccup smiled and nodded. “Why should you guys move to Cuba though?”

“Because then Jack could start dancing again.” Emma chirped only to squeal when Jack suddenly flicked water at her. “He could dance, meet the man of his dreams!” She got down from the table and ran off into the living room laughing when Jack began flicking more water at her, getting his fingers wet in the kitchen sink when he’d retreated to get drinks for everyone. “Fall in love!”

Hiccup watched mildly surprised. “So, you go to Cuba and bam – fall in love? But is it gonna be a tragic love like at the Copacabana? Didn’t they say that it was the hottest spot north of Havana?”

“Not for my Jack!” Emma declared as she got closer, once she realized that her brother was sitting again. “Could be true love! Get married and have a kid or something.” She darted behind Hiccup and leaned around him, arms holding onto the man tightly. “But maybe Jack found a love here?”

Jack scowled. “Go back to stretching Emma…and point your toes!”

She laughed and disappeared back into the living room. There was silence and then a heavy Cuban beat filled the apartment as Emma yammered to herself, giving herself a pep-talk about getting to the Festival. Hiccup waited a few more minutes before turning back to look at Jack.

“Start dancing again?” he prompted with a grin.

Jack groaned and let his head hit the dining room table as Emma laughed louder.

“Jack was a really good dancer!”

“POINT YOUR TOES EMMA!”


	8. Set-Up

His heart dropped as he stared across the expanse of the room. Fucking Flynn Rider! But to his credit the brunet looked as surprised to see him there as he was to see the other man. They crept along the beams that crisscrossed along the ceiling toward each other and crouched down to stay hidden.

“What are you doing here Flynn?” Jack demanded in a whisper.

Flynn made a face. “I’m on a job. Why are you here?”

“Same…what are you here for?” Jack’s heart skipped a beat at the thought.

Something was weird, too weird for this. Flynn and Jack had worked together before but they’d never run into each other on separate jobs before. Immediately two sets of eyes flickered toward a jade oil lamp.

“You’re shitting me.” Flynn muttered with a frown. “Who hired you?”

Jack grumbled a bit. “The man in white.”

“Sunnovabitch.” It came out as one word from Flynn and he stared down at the lamp in question. “He wouldn’t have forgotten that he already hired one of us. So he either really wants to make sure we don’t fail or…”

“It’s a set-up.” Jack finished for him.

They had their answer soon enough when a sudden beam of light shot up to where they were, blinding the two. A familiar sound of guns being drawn had the two bolting in opposite directions. So that’s how it was going to be then. The two thieves were quick on their feet as they retreated from the room and each other, using one of many sought after escape routes. Jack dropped into the courtyard of the building he had been supposed to be stealing from. The building was massive, a Japanese tea house and museum. So, naturally it had a ridiculously large courtyard and garden.

A shot rang into the night and Jack jumped as a bullet whizzed past him. Shit! Shit! Shit shit shit! He shot off again, racing for the wall that lined the property. Suddenly Flynn was bursting from a massive hydrangea bush beside him and they ran.

“Fucking bastard set us up!” Flynn snarled.

Jack nodded as he ran along beside him, forcing himself to focus on breathing and running. He wasn’t going to waste time or energy complaining while men with guns had been waiting for them. Flynn was taller than Jack and had no trouble scaling up onto the wall, gripping terracotta roofing tiles before hoisting himself up, turning back to Jack. The white haired young man gritted his teeth and instead was up on a stone bench and leaping up onto the wall, scaling up easily.

“Damn parkour-doing monkey dancer!” Flynn grumbled as they slid down the opposite side.

“Go! Go!” Jack shoved him back as the sound of footsteps approached them from the direction they’d been previously heading.

They were up on their feet and racing along the length of the wall as the security officers came running after them. If they could get to the city park then they’d be clear, or at least have an easier opportunity to escape. The plan was good and they shared a look and subtle nod, pushing themselves to run faster. The sound of police sirens made Jack falter enough that a sudden pain lanced through his leg.

“Fuck!”

Flynn turned and reached back to grab Jack, forcing the young man to run along behind him. His leg was burning but the adrenaline was keeping him going. This wasn’t going to be pretty. Jack directed his mind off the pain in his leg to instead focus on escaping. They managed to escape only just barely and Flynn helped Jack up into the tree they’d picked as a hiding spot. Once their hearts slowed down Jack couldn’t ignore the pain in his leg and reached down to grip it tightly.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Jack hissed as Flynn winced.

“Let’s get that wrapped up.” Flynn looked around for a moment before standing up carefully in the tree and removing his belt before wrapping it around the torn sleeve from the over shirt Jack wore which was around Jack’s thigh.

They managed to get from the tree and Jack had to lean heavily on Flynn as they hobbled along through the park. Luckily it was late so the only people weren’t ones that were going to give them too much trouble.

“We can take you the clinic, safest place.” Flynn offered.

Jack shook his head. “The apartment.”

“You’ll bleed to death stupid.” Flynn argued as he continued to half-drag Jack down the dark streets.

Jack grimaced and reached into his pocket to pull out his cellphone. He turned it on and quickly found the number he wanted before punching the call button. “Hey, Hiccup…you working tonight?”

Hiccup frowned at the question that came over the line. “What? No, if I were I wouldn’t have answered. Jack what’s wrong? You sound off…”

“Who the hell is Hiccup? Are you making a booty call Jack? You stupid fuck, you’re injured.”

The frown deepened. “Who was that? What do you mean you’re injured? Jack where the hell are you? And where is Emma?”

“She’s at a friend’s house.” Jack answered, his voice pinching slightly at the pain in his leg. “I’m uh…well…Damn it Flynn the apartment not the hospital. Apartment!”

“JACK!” Hiccup’s voice demanded his attention. “What is going on? Where are you?”

Jack winced. “Almost home. I’m in some trouble…you up to keeping me alive?”

There was a long silence. “I’ll meet you in your apartment.”

Jack grinned even as the line went dead. “See, got my own personal nurse to take care of me.”

Flynn snorted and shook his head but between the two of them they managed to get back to the apartment with little trouble. The stairs proved to be an entirely different manner and it was painful to get up them. They were greeted by Hiccup who’s face went from irritated, to worried, to suspicious, then to exasperated.

“Who are you and what happened?” Hiccup asked as they ushered Jack into the kitchen. It’d be easier to bleach the floors and countertop in there. “Pants off Jack, and if you make a sexual joke again I’ll leave you in pain in the floor.”

Jack flushed a bit and did as ordered once the belt had been removed from the wound. “Wrong place at the wrong time.”

“I’m Flynn Rider, friend of Jack’s.” Flynn explained hastily as Hiccup to got to work, kneeling in front of Jack after putting on latex gloves.

“You were shot because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time?” Hiccup asked with a frown. “Did you call the police.”

Flynn snorted. “Gang members don’t wait around for that sort of shit. We stumbled into a small fight and then this dumbass got shot and we hightailed it out of there.”

Green eyes lifted and if Hiccup didn’t believe the story, he didn’t mention it. He merely grunted and turned back to tending to the wound. At least it was a clean shot, through and through. Still…Hiccup glanced up at Jack and shook his head before going back to cleaning the wound. He didn’t even warn Jack that it would sting but the younger man kept his mouth shut.

“You’re lucky this is a minor wound.” Hiccup muttered. “You just can’t stay out of trouble can you?”

Jack met Flynn’s gaze over Hiccup’s head and the two shared a look even as Jack sighed. “You have no idea.”


	9. Gummy

There was a soft whirring sound and Jack absently attributed it to the ceiling fan, the gentle breeze on his face confirmed his thoughts. He could hear dishes being moved in the kitchen and that made him frown. Who was in the kitchen? Slowly blue eyes opened groggily and Jack found himself staring at the dark telly and Emma…he was in the living room? Emma moved a bit and he frowned slightly, what was she playing with?

Gummy bears…apparently.

“And what if it loses?” Emma said suddenly as she held up a red gummy bear as if scrutinizing it.

What was she talking about?

She giggled a bit. “Well... if it loses, Precious. then we EATS it!” She shoved a different gummy bear into her mouth for emphasis. “And if Baggins loses, then we eats it whole.”

Jack chuckled. “Fair enough.”

The girl whipped around quickly to stare at her brother. “Jack! It’s about time you woke up!”

He grinned and then frowned. “How long was I out?”

“About a day.” Hiccup answered as he came into the living room with three empty plates.

That was about the time Jack realized there was take out on the table next to Emma’s gummy bears. He frowned again and eased himself up into a sitting position, ignoring the pain in his leg. “What happened?”

Hiccup made a thoughtful sound. “Apparently you can’t handle medication.”

“No, I’m terrible at it.” he mumbled, rubbing his face with his hand.

“I got that when half an hour after giving you something, you nearly broke your nose when you faceplanted from the chair. Thank the gods that Flynn was standing there to catch you.” Hiccup pointed out before loading up a plate for Jack and handing it over. “Emma you have to eat more than sweet and sour chicken.”

The girl pouted but grudgingly allowed him to put some fried rice and teriyaki broccoli onto her plate as well. “Hiccup stayed with us all day and got dinners and all kinds of stuff. Oh, Jack, Hiccup can’t cook. He set off the fire alarm making grilled cheese.”

Hiccup scowled as Jack blinked owlishly. “Eat your dinner.”

Jack smiled softly and slowly started to feel more awake as he shifted around then took the offered chopsticks from Hiccup and began to dig in. “Thanks for everything.”

Hiccup nodded. “I happen to have fantastic bedside manners.”

“Do you now?” Jack asked with a small grin.

The dark haired man sitting on the floor blinked and then scowled at Jack. “Not like that you idiot!”

Emma blinked cluelessly. “What?”

“Eat your chicken Emma.” Jack stated, poking his sister slightly.

She pouted at not being included in whatever the two older people were talking about but turned back to her dinner anyway. She munched happily on her sweet and sour chicken and messed with her gummy bears while her brother and Hiccup spoke. She didn’t know why Jack was hurt, Hiccup had done a fantastic job at hiding the wound from the girl. But she was glad that Hiccup was there helping them. Soon however dinner was finished and Emma had helped Hiccup do the few dishes while Jack was forced to stay on the couch.

She hurried over and gave her brother a kiss on the cheek before grabbing her bag of gummy bears and leaving the room to get ready for bed. “Be careful Jack.”

There was a long pause before Hiccup came into the living room and curled up on the end of the couch after Jack moved his feet. “How is your leg feeling? You in any pain?”

“No, I’m fine.” Jack said after a moment of thought. “Just sore.”

“That’s to be expected.” Hiccup said with a small nod.

Jack fidgeted slightly. “Sorry about…harassing you a lot. I know you aren’t my personal nurse or something. Just sometimes it’s hard…”

Hiccup held his hand up to silence Jack. “I’ve decided I don’t want to know what you and Flynn Rider get up to. The less I know, the easier I can sleep at night. But you seriously need to stop whatever it is you’re doing to get yourself in these situations. You’re all Emma has left.”

Jack flinched at the harsh tone and nodded slowly. He knew that what he did was probably not the best – far from it but…He sighed and despite the pain in his leg, drew his legs close to his chest. “I’m not the best decision maker.”

“Obviously.” Hiccup deadpanned as he stared forward toward the blank telly.

He watched Jack in the reflection for a moment before turning to look at the younger man. He almost felt bad for scolding him but really, the kid was making stupid decisions left and right. After a moment or two Jack scowled and got up, ignoring Hiccup’s warning about not putting too much pressure on his leg.

“You didn’t have to stay. You don’t have to stay. Just send me the bill for whatever it’s cost you to do whatever it is you’ve done. I didn’t ask for you to remain after helping anyway. If you want to go then go.” Jack stated with a growl as he left the room, hobbling slightly and stubbornly refusing help.

Hiccup sighed as he leaned further back in the couch. “But I’m here now.”


	10. Hotel

“Emma tells me that I can’t crash on the couch.”

Jack frowned as he stared at the phone for a moment. “What?”

Aster laughed across the line. “Apparently I’m not allowed to crash on your couch when I visit.”

“Did she say why?”

“You’ve got a boyfriend who comes around. Apparently she doesn’t want me to cause him to think something is going on.”

Jack sighed heavily and pulled the phone from his head, turning toward the hallway. “EMMA!”

“I didn’t do it!” she yelled back.

Jack could hear Aster laughing over the line and turned back to the conversation. “I don’t have a boyfriend. Hiccup and I are not dating. We’re friends, he’s a neighbor who comes around…” Jack frowned slightly. Hiccup used to come over quite a bit but lately he had been scarce. It was technically Jack’s fault for that… “Well he used to come around. But he’s just a friend of ours.”

“So then it’s safe to sleep on the couch?” Aster questioned.

“Yes. I’m not going to force you to spend money at a hotel you won’t even really be at, since I know you’ll be harassing us or doing work stuff.” Jack said with a laugh. “I’ll talk to Emma about this nonsense.”

Aster laughed again. “Right then, my flight lands at 8 tonight. Don’t forget.”

“I won’t, promise.” Jack murmured. “Talk to you later.”

Once the phone call was over Jack went in search of his sister. Not that she could hide in a two-bedroom apartment, but still…He knocked twice then opened Emma’s bedroom door and crossed his arms as he watched the girl going over her steps for the performance coming up.

“You want to explain why you told Aster he couldn’t stay here?” Jack asked, a frown set firmly on his face.

Emma turned to face her brother and gave him an unamused look. “Because then Hiccup will think you’re cheating on him.”

Jack’s brow furrowed. “Hiccup and I aren’t dating. We’re just friends.” He watched her for a moment. “Your arms need to come up higher, when you turn faster you’ll throw yourself off balance.” He nodded when she corrected herself. “Good, but Hiccup and I aren’t dating. So Aster is not being forced to go to a hotel, and you’re going to stop telling people random shit.”

The girl giggled and shrugged rather elegantly for a child before focusing on her balance and then twirling around in a circle, her arms in a proper position this time. “Better?”

“Better. We’re still not dating.” Jack decided as he left the room.

“Who aren’t you dating?” Hiccup asked from where he was perched on the couch, causing Jack to nearly leap out of his skin. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

Jack let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “Apparently we’re dating.”

“Are we?” Hiccup lifted a brow. “I didn’t know that. Does that make me a bad boyfriend?”

“I didn’t know we were dating either.” Jack muttered and then shook his head. “Emma told an old friend of mine that he couldn’t crash here while he was in town because you’d think I was cheating on you. So now she’s decided that we’re dating.”

Hiccup frowned slightly and then shrugged at the logic. “Kids are weird.”

Jack nodded with a small grin. “How’ve you been?”

“Exhausted.” Hiccup complained with a loud sigh as he flopped back against the couch.

“Poor baby.” Jack teased as he headed to the kitchen to make some tea for the other man. “You won’t get much rest here today. Emma is going to be working on her routine. You should probably head to your own apartment if you want some sleep.”

Hiccup made a complaining noise. “But your couch is so much more comfortable than mine.” He grinned at the mug of tea that appeared in front of him. “You are a godsend.” He took a drink and a new sound of joy came from him. “This is amazing, always perfect.”

Jack snorted. “You can’t cook and you’re shit at making tea.” He sat back with his own cup of tea, grunting slightly when Hiccup stretched out on the couch and put his feet on Jack’s legs. “How did you survive before you met us?”

“That’s why you are dating.” Emma declared as she came into the living room, eyeing the two on the couch. “Come on, it’s been months.”

Jack glared at Emma. “And some people are friends for years before they even think about dating someone. If you aren’t careful I’ll make you stay at a hotel, or up at Hiccup’s apartment.”

The girl huffed and instead put in her music, using the extra space the living room provided to work on some of her more complicated steps. They were lucky the woman downstairs didn’t mind the jumping around.

Hiccup grinned slightly at Jack. “So when does your friend arrive?”

“He’s flight comes in later tonight.” Jack muttered as he took another sip of his tea, watching his sister closely. “Arms up Emma.” At least he didn’t have to remind her to point her toes. “But we haven’t seen him in a few years so I don’t mind him crashing here on the couch. He’ll be here or out doing whatever it is he does when he’s not loitering around the apartment.”

“Hiding in a hotel maybe.” Hiccup teased.

Emma turned to face them for a moment and shook her head. “Hiccup, Jack isn’t interested in Bunny so you don’t have to worry about him stealing him away.”

Hiccup blinked a few times. “Um, thank you?”

She nodded and smiled before continuing her practice.

Jack groaned. “Maybe I’ll check myself into a hotel and leave her alone with Aster.”


	11. Igloo

Jack stood next to Aster, keeping an eye out for Hiccup. He was supposed to meet them at the door and then they’d all find seats together. Soon enough Hiccup arrived and Jack hastily introduced the two to each other before hurrying into the building. The three chose a place near the back because Aster was a large man with broad shoulders and they didn’t want to block views.

“Why do they keep these places so cold?” Jack complained as he dropped into the seat between Hiccup and Aster. “Bloody ridiculous.”

Hiccup snorted and glanced over at the smaller man. “Probably for the performers. They have to move around and they get stuck under those hot lights for hours.”

Jack grumbled and burrowed into his hoodie. “And the audience freezes.”

“Yer always cold mate.” Aster stated with a shake of his head while the other people milled around them. “That’s nothing new.”

A few parents and guardians greeted Jack as they moved to find their own seats, looking for good vantage points to watch the performance. Hiccup watched as one rather attractive young woman made a beeline to them, a determined look on her face.

“Jack!”

He glanced up and offered a pinched smile. “Melissa, you look well.”

The dark haired girl seemed ignorant of his discomfort and put her hands on her hips, a small smile on her face. “And you look like you haven’t aged a day. I heard a rumor your sister is taking after you. Is that true?”

“Ah, maybe?” Jack shrugged offhandedly. “She hasn’t really brought up going outside of ballet. But she might I guess…”

Melissa scoffed and shook her head. “I still can’t believe you left the scene. It’s a shame. If you ever think about doing it again, just for fun or something let me know!” She cast a flirty wink at him and Jack shifted in his seat, subconsciously leaning a little closer to Hiccup. “I hope your sister does well!” And with that Melissa flounced off back to the group of people she was sitting with.

Jack let out a heavy sigh, seemingly drained all of a sudden. “I thought she was never going to go away.”

Aster laughed. “Can’t believe she still has that Jack-sense.”

“Who was that?” Hiccup asked suddenly, causing Jack to straighten up and offer a small smile.

Jack glanced over toward Melissa and then made a small face before turning back to Hiccup. “Melissa Delmay. She was…eh…” Jack made another face. “She was one of my old dance partners, crazy aggressive and all. She’d get mad if I had a different partner during any of the competitions. Had this insane idea that we’d get married and have magical dancing-prodigy babies or something. She was pissed when I quit the competitions and then didn’t talk to me for a year or two when I quit dance all together.”

Aster snorted. “Too bad she didn’t stay away ay?”

Jack nodded with a small laugh. “I hated when we had to do tangos.”

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head, settling back into his seat. People were calmed down as the teacher stepped up to the mic and began to go through the greeting and welcoming speech. He watched the woman for a moment but his gaze kept flickering back to Melissa almost curiously. The dark haired woman kept looking back over her shoulder at them an odd look in bright eyes. Luckily Jack seemed unaware of her gaze and was instead focused on the stage.

“There she is!” Jack whispered as the children took their places on the stage.

Emma was dressed similarly to the girls around her but it wasn’t hard to spot her amongst them. She didn’t have the leading role but she performed her part with the same dedication and drive that the leads did.

“The ankle-biter is good.” Aster murmured, turning to look at the two seated beside him, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb the others around them. “Gotta be genetic.”

Hiccup frowned at the comment. What did he mean by that? He decided to question it later and instead turned his attention back to the dances. When Emma wasn’t on the stage Hiccup found himself looking back at Melissa who seemed more interested in Jack because more often than not she was looking back at them.

A small intermission had Hiccup’s attention drawn to Jack instead. “Why are your hands so cold?”

Jack grumbled and rubbed them together. “Because this place is freezing! I could bring ice in here and build an igloo! It’d stay too! Right there on the stage. The kids would have to perform around it. Make an igloo fort…”

“It’s not that cold.” Hiccup muttered as he reached out and grabbed Jack’s hands in his own. “Let me see what I can do.”

The white haired man’s hands were freezing and so much smaller than his own. It was rather interesting once he really took notice of it. Jack stared at their hands for a moment with wide eyes before twisting his hands to grip at Hiccup’s.

“How are you so warm? I thought only Bunny here could make this much heat.” Jack seemed to be muttering to himself, missing the glare that Aster shot in his direction. “I wish I could stay this warm…”

Hiccup frowned slightly. “Are you always this cold?”

“Yeah, always…” Jack said quietly.

Hiccup frowned and was going to say something about it but the intermission ended and the ballet continued. Still, he kept Jack’s hands held tightly between his own, rubbing his thumb absently over the soft skin, tracing the bumps of Jack’s knuckles. And if he happen to notice Melissa turn away quickly, well then…that was just a bonus.


	12. Justice

It was a quiet day; the weather was nice but something made Jack uneasy. He shifted in his seat across from Hiccup. They were in the bookstore again; Emma had already disappeared into the shelves looking for something new so the two older men settled at a table after getting coffee. His leg jittered slightly with his nerves but he tried to keep himself still so he wouldn’t bother Hiccup who was pouring over textbooks again. He was close to finishing, in the last stretch to become a doctor. Jack didn’t want to distract him any more than he already had.

“You’re shaking.” Hiccup murmured, glancing up from the book in front of him.

Jack let out a sigh. “Sorry.”

Hiccup watched him for a moment longer, assessing him for something, then turned back to what he was reading. The peace returned but still Jack couldn’t help but feel the tingle of someone watching him. He glanced around and tried to distract himself with his coffee. It worked until someone approached the table.

“Frost.”

Jack bit back a groan. He’d recognize that voice anywhere. “Black.”

“I’d like a moment, please.” Pitch Black stated, his hands folded behind his back as casually as ever.

For a moment Jack considered a biting remark but sighed and nodded. He excused himself from Hiccup’s side and followed Pitch through the book store. Once they were a good distance from anyone else Jack turned to the tall man. “I didn’t know you were in town.”

“It’s business Jack.” Pitch drawled, glancing over the various titles around them. “I hear something happened a few weeks ago. Care to enlighten me?”

Jack snorted. “I’m sure you know just as much as everyone else.”

Pitch glanced at the small man. “I can only do so much to protect you from the agency Jack. They’ve already come to the conclusion that you’re involved with some of the things going on in town.” He watched Jack’s face but the man had gotten much better at hiding things. “That’s what I thought. However, we’ve also been informed that something is going to happen.”

Jack glanced at Pitch curiously. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because it’s my case now.” Pitch murmured as he pulled a cooking book from the shelf. “Hm, that actually looks good…I’ll have to get him to make it some time.” Amber eyes lifted from the ingredients to look at Jack. “Our inside man has gone silent and is now missing. Time is of the essence. Drake is getting restless, rumor has it he’s going after something bigger than his usual small targets.”

“How big?” Jack asked, his voice tight.

Pitch hid his smirk. He had Jack’s interest now. “National bank, big.”

“Fuck.” Jack breathed before rubbing his hand over his mouth contemplatively. “I haven’t…I don’t…shit. You talked to Rider?”

“He’s already aware of what’s going on. However, he’s already been brought in by one of the other agents. They arrested him and I can’t pull him out of it this time.” Pitch stated in his usual bored drawl. “I’ve got someone working on getting him out so don’t concern yourself with it.”

Jack closed his eyes. Damnit Flynn…There was a long moment of silence between them. He knew what Pitch was asking him, and he knew the consequences of the actions. Silent Jack weighed the pros and cons. Drake was a big name in the underworld, even people in Jack’s circle knew who he was. He was one of those people you only spoke about when you were alone, safe. No one knew who the man was but those that knew of him preferred it that way. If he was going for a bank, then something was up. He didn’t usually do things like that. Blue eyes traced the different spines of the books in front of him thoughtfully, though he didn’t actually see them.

“What’s in it for me?” Jack asked after a long moment.

Pitch smirked. “For one, you’ll get a clean slate upon completion. Consider it a last job and you can retire from your profession.” The dark haired man glanced at someone walking past and waited for several moments before looking back down at Jack. “It’d keep you out of trouble. I liked it better when you stayed in dancing.”

“Yeah well, dancing isn’t nearly as lucrative.” Jack muttered. But the idea of being free of any record was nice. He’d never been caught per say but there was enough against him that they could go after him if they wanted to. “So basically I do this stupid dangerous thing without getting caught and then you sweep in a harbinger of justice and save the day?”

Pitch snorted. “Don’t be so dramatic Frost.”

Jack grinned. “That’s my M.O.” His grin disappeared and he crossed his arms, leaning back against the bookshelf casually. “Do you know when?”

“Not for a while longer. We’ve got others inside giving us information. If what we have is believable then Drake will have someone contact you when they are closer to being ready.” Pitch explained. “We’ll keep eyes on them, you just keep going as you are. Accept jobs as you would.” The dark haired man fingered the book in his hand contemplatively. “Just go about your life as you normally would.”

Jack nodded slightly. “Fine, I’m game for now. But if I think it’s too big then I’m out. I don’t want to put Emma in danger.”

“Agreed. We’ll keep in touch.” Pitch stated before disappearing down the line of the shelf and rounding the corner.

After a few minutes Jack returned to the table where Hiccup was sitting with Emma. She’d gotten a new book, something about unicorns and wars…Jack wasn’t going to ask this time.

“Everything good?” Hiccup asked, assessing Jack once again.

Jack gave him his usual brilliant smile. “Yeah, it’s all good. You ready Emma?”

She nodded with a chirp of confirmation. Jack smiled and put a hand on his sister’s head, glancing curiously at Hiccup. There was a silent question and Hiccup seemed to consider before looking around the bookstore. Jack said nothing as Hiccup looked down at his text book thoughtfully before sighing and standing up.

“Come on, let’s go get lunch. I’m starving.” Hiccup stated, putting his books back into his bag and nodding toward the door. “My treat.”

“Oh! That’ means it’s a date!” Emma exclaimed, ignoring Jack’s groan and Hiccup’s sudden laugh.

“Whatever you want to think.” Hiccup stated, ushering Jack and Emma out of the building.

Jack turned and scowled at Hiccup. “Don’t encourage her!”


	13. Keychain

Jack watched his sister as she fussed over which headband she wanted to wear with a small fond smile. He found his mind wandering back and forth between the conversation he’d had with Pitch a few days ago and what it could mean. Emma finally decided on one of the headbands and hurried to stand in front of Jack, a large grin on her face.

“I’m ready!” she chirped.

Jack nodded. “Let’s go then. I’m sure you’ll want to try several of them.”

“Yes!” Emma agreed with a nod of her head.

The two left the apartment and Jack was surprised to meet Hiccup on the stairs, looking surprisingly fetching in a black sweater and slacks. Emma greeted him cheerfully and Hiccup nodded.

“Where are you two going?” he asked with a small smile.

Emma beamed at him. “We’re going to the mall! There is a new store there that has purikura!”

“It has what?” Hiccup frowned in confusion.

Jack sighed and shook his head. “It’s some type of Japanese photo booth that lets you decorate the pictures after you take them. And you can turn them into things like magnets and other random stuff. I don’t know who got her into it…”

“Jack promised we’d go.” Emma explained, rocking on her feet.

Hiccup glanced at Jack and something flittered across his green eyes that Jack couldn’t place. “Did he now? Jack likes to make a lot of promises doesn’t he?”

Emma nodded enthusiastically. “He never breaks them! Oh! Hiccy you should come with us! Then you can see what it’s like.”

“Emma,” Jack began with a sigh. “You have to stop just inviting people along. Hiccup could be busy you know. He is in school.”

Hiccup shrugged. “I’ve got time to kill, if you’re all right with it Jack.”

There was something different about this encounter. Jack couldn’t place his finger on what was different but a half an hour later the three were going through the shop while Emma danced around debating on which booth she wanted to choose. Finally, she picked one and the attendant got it going for them. A series of several pictures were taken once they were settled inside the booth and the poses changed between the different shots. Emma’s favorite was Jack and Hiccup kissing both her cheeks, but she did like the one of just Jack and Hiccup. She’d managed to duck out of the image just in time so it was the two of them, their foreheads pressed together because they’d turned to see where she had actually gone to at the perfect moment.

Jack let his sister decorate four pictures and once she was done they went back to the counter to collect them. Emma watched the girl for a moment before asking something in a soft voice. The woman working smiled and nodded before ducking down to grab something. Jack and Hiccup stood back chatting quietly while Emma waited patiently for her photos. She took them with a small thanks and hurried over to Jack and Hiccup.

“Here!” she declared holding up two photo keychains. “Now you both have memories!”

Hiccup reached out and took one of the plastic double-sided keychains with a small smile. On one side, it was the picture of them kissing her cheeks and she’d decorated it with hearts and rainbows and a strange array of other things while the other side was the image of him and Jack, surprisingly undecorated save for a border of bubbles around the edge of the photo.

“Thanks Emma.” Hiccup said softly as he hooked it to his keyring while Jack did the same.

The girl looked rather pleased with herself as they left the store and wandered around for a bit through the mall, following wherever Emma’s fancy took them. Somehow she conned Hiccup into buying her a giant cookie but thankfully it kept her quiet most of the car ride back. Hiccup sat staring down at the keychain that Emma had gotten, a fond smile on his face while Jack sang with whatever song was playing on the radio, occasionally improvising until Hiccup was laughing so hard it hurt.

Once they got back to the apartments Emma ran ahead and bounced next to the door until Jack threw the keys to her so she could let herself into the apartment. He turned to talk to Hiccup only to blink in surprise at how close the other man was.

“Hiccup?” Jack looked up. Had they ever been this close before?

There was that look again. Before Jack had a chance to question him again, Hiccup suddenly cupped Jack’s face in his hands and kissed him. There was a moment of shock before the rest of the world caught up to Jack. Hiccup was moving back slightly and Jack’s lips chased after Hiccup’s refusing to break the kiss just yet. Once they did finally part, Hiccup rested his forehead against Jack’s, both men closing their eyes to try and wrap their minds around what just happened.

“Date me.” Hiccup said in a hoarse whisper.

Jack smiled softly. “Okay.”


	14. Leaf

The day was pleasant, sunny with a gentle breeze. It was rare for the city and people were taking advantage of the nice weather. Jack and Hiccup were in the park, enjoying their own private moment. They were at the large city garden-park seated under a tree in companionable silence away from the general hustle and bustle, Hiccup was studying and Jack was feeling artistic…or something.

“I’ll be right back.” Jack murmured before getting up and patting Hiccup’s shoulder.

Hiccup made a small sound of acknowledgement but didn’t look up from where he was scribbling notes in a notebook resting in his lap. He blew his bangs from his face absently before turning to look for where Jack went. After a few moments he shrugged slightly and turned back to his book and his studying. He absently noted the noises around him and then frowned again. Where had Jack disappeared to?

“I thought you’d gotten lost.” Hiccup mumbled when he saw Jack approaching with his arms filled with flowers, grass, and twigs?

Jack grinned slightly. “Nope, just getting some stuff.”

Hiccup watched him settled down beside him but Jack didn’t say anything, merely offered him a smile and then motioned back to Hiccup’s books. “Do your homework.”

“Yes mum.” Hiccup groused as he turned back to read over the text.

Jack sat beside him in silence, working diligently on whatever he was making. The soft rustling of the plants in his hands joined the general sounds of nature and the people who were out and about. After several long moments Hiccup turned to look at what Jack was doing, mildly surprised at the quick efficiency that his fingers moved in. Although, if he were honest, he wasn’t entirely surprised that Jack knew how to make flower crowns.

“You learn for Emma?” he asked quietly after a moment.

Jack hummed slightly, an absent little tone, as he inspected the blue and yellow flowers he was working with absently. He frowned slightly and then set aside the half-finished crown before getting up and wandering away, muttering to himself. Hiccup smiled and then shook his head before turning back to his homework. He continued to make notes in a quick precise manner, though his mind trailed over different topics and didn’t linger on his work.

After several moments Jack returned and plopped down next to Hiccup and started working on his little art project. He hummed a soft tune as he worked and Hiccup smiled before closing his book and leaning against Jack, the distance allowing his head to rest on the younger man’s shoulder. Jack turned his head, pausing in his work, to press a kiss to messy hair before resuming his work. The peace continued and finally Jack made a small pleased sound.

“Finished then?” Hiccup asked with smile as he sat up and looked at the flower and leaf crown curiously.

Jack nodded. “I think so.”

Before he had a chance to say anything else Jack was turning to face him. Hiccup blinked several times and then laughed when Jack put the crown on his head. Jack’s smile was almost blinding and he laughed before pulling out his phone and taking a picture.

“I’ll have to show Emma; she’ll kill me if I don’t.” Jack stated with a laugh before tucking the device back into his pocket before Hiccup could grab it. He watched Hiccup for a moment then smiled. “You look good with green.”

“So I’ve been told.” Hiccup murmured as he stared down at the heavy text book in his lap. “And the blue?”

Jack grinned, a wide thing full of white perfect teeth. “That’s my color of course. So since we’re dating you have to have something that shows you belong to someone.”

Hiccup laughed. “Something that shows ownership? I’ll have to come up with something of my own then so people don’t try to steal you away.”

“Nah, wouldn’t happen. They’d pay you to take me back.” Jack stated, wrinkling his nose.

Hiccup reached out and pulled him close, stealing a soft kiss before smiling. “More for me then.”


	15. First Contact

Jack didn’t even look up from the old book he was reading when the chair was pulled out across from him. “You are not my boyfriend and that seat is taken…by my boyfriend.”

“I’ll make this quick Mr. Frost.”

Slowly Jack lifted his head to stare at the sharply dressed redhead sitting across from him. “Who are you?”

The man grinned slightly and handed over a card. “My name is Hans and I represent someone who is interested in meeting you. Very interested.”

“Meeting me…” Jack mumbled, eyeing Hans for a moment before letting his gaze drop down to the card.

A chill spread through him as he stared at the symbol on the card. Drake. He stared for a long moment unseeing before taking in a shuddering breath before lifting his head to look around for a moment. His gaze settled on Hiccup who stood at the counter chatting with a blonde woman. They seemed to know each other really well from the animated motions that Hiccup was making. He watched for a moment longer before turning back to look at Hans. The man regarded him with a smug grin and Jack had the sudden urge to break his nose.

“Now?” Jack asked skeptically.

Hans laughed. “No, no, not yet. He’s a busy person after all. But he does have a small job for you. Consider it an initiation.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed as he took a plain looking envelope from Hans and peered inside curiously. Inside there was a slip of paper with a few words written on it. He stared at them for a moment before looking up back to where Hans was sitting…or rather where he had been sitting. Immediately blue eyes darted around but there was no sign of the other man. Hastily he shoved the envelope into his hoodie pocket when he heard familiar footsteps coming toward him. He turned and smiled at Hiccup who made his way over with a tray that had their lunch on it and the blonde woman in tow.

“Jack I’d like you to meet someone.” Hiccup stated as he put the tray down then motioned to the woman, a wide grin on his face. “This is Astrid, she’s an old friend of mine since childhood. Astrid this is my boyfriend Jack.”

“Nice to meet you.” Jack mumbled with a small smile and a nod.

Astrid returned the gesture. “Likewise. Glad to see this idiot has finally settled down enough to have someone to call boyfriend.”

A small look of confusion darted across Jack’s face as he glanced between the two curiously. Hiccup and Astrid shared a small look and suddenly Jack felt like he was intruding on something. He fiddled with the edge of his well-worn book and stared down at the food that was put in front of him, running his thumb along the soft pages. After a moment or two Astrid excused herself and disappeared into the crowd leaving the two alone.

The silence stretched between them until Hiccup frowned. “Jack?”

He jerked as if he’d been physically touched. “What?”

“Are you feeling all right? You look off.” Hiccup pointed out with a small motion of his hand.

“Yeah…” Jack offered a rather weak smile and then nodded. “I’m good. Just suddenly got uh…lost in thought I guess.”

Hiccup set his fork down and leaned against the edge of the table. “You want to talk about it?”

“No. It’s nothing important.” Jack mumbled after a long moment of consideration. “So, you and Astrid have been friends for a long time?”

Hiccup didn’t like the sudden change in topic but he nodded and accepted it. “Yeah. We grew up together…practically inseparable for a while. She’s the person that I can call in the middle of the night and hide a dead body. That kind of person.”

Jack nodded in understanding. “She’s your person. I get that. That’s sorta like Aster to me I guess.” He offered a sly grin. “You two just good friends? No secret history?”

“What about you and Aster?” Hiccup retorted with a smirk of his own.

“Nah,” Jack wrinkled his nose. “Aster’s like an older brother to me. We were never…no we didn’t ever have that kind of a relationship.”

Hiccup nodded slightly as he went back to eating, seeming pleased when Jack finally started on his own lunch. “Same thing with Astrid and me. When I was younger I had a crush on her, I’ll admit. But we realized we both had the wrong body parts really quickly.”

Jack snorted. “So she swings that way?”

“Yeah, she’s got a very happy wife at home.” Hiccup answered with another nod.

“Good.” Jack stated with a small grin. “I don’t share well.”

Hiccup glanced up from under his messy bangs and gave a small smile of his own. “I don’t like to share either.”

There was something in those green eyes that made Jack stop. Some unnamed emotion lingering in Hiccup’s eyes that made them seem darker than Jack knew them to be. It set a chill down Jack’s spine but the white haired man couldn’t place a name on why. He merely grinned and turned back to his lunch. Their conversation was easy though Jack couldn’t get his mind off the envelope in his pocket. Why did Drake want a Tibetan singing bowl? And why did he want this specific one? Jack couldn’t help but get lost in his thoughts but was broken from them when he suddenly felt lips against his own. Jack blinked rapidly and leaned back slightly, eyes wide. When had Hiccup moved chairs to sit beside him instead of across from him?

“You left me for a minute there.” Hiccup said quietly, his eyes reflecting his concern. “You sure everything is okay?”

Jack said nothing for a moment then pouted. “No, that was over too fast.”

Hiccup chuckled. “Would another kiss make it better?”

“Very much so.” Jack answered automatically.

Hiccup laughed again but did as requested, catching Jack’s chin in a gentle but firm grip and kissing him. Clearly he didn’t care what people around them were whispering and that made Jack ridiculously happy, even as he lost himself in another kiss.


	16. Mishap

Hiccup lifted his head when the front door to the apartment opened suddenly. His eyes darted to his watch curiously. Had it really gotten so late? Jack was making noises near the door and Hiccup waited at the dining room table patiently. Of course his eyes widened when Jack passed him covered in…was that blood?

“Jack!” he exclaimed, shooting to his feet.

Jack would forever deny that he screamed in fear or jump nearly to the ceiling.

“Hiccup!” Jack’s hand was clutching his heart through his soiled hoodie.

“What the hell is this?” Hiccup demanded, motioning frantically toward Jack, his eyes never leaving the red liquid that covered the pale man from nearly head to toe. “Are you hurt?”

Jack sighed and made a small face as he fidgeted on the throw rug. “Would you believe me if I told you it was a mishap and that it’s not my blood?”

Hiccup’s eyes narrowed. “Are you reenacting Carrie?”

Jack laughed almost nervously while Hiccup herded him into the bathroom without any hesitation. “No, well yes, well no I mean…it is pig blood though.”

“Do I want to know why?” Hiccup asked as he turned on the shower taps and then turned back to Jack. “Is this why you needed me to watch Emma? To have some weird ritual involving pig blood?”

“No I was doi--!” His response was stopped momentarily as Hiccup pulled his hoodie off of him. “Gross…no I was trying to hurry back home. Took a short cut through a butcher shop…”

Hiccup stopped mid-movement and stared at Jack. “Why were you running through a butcher shop? In the back rooms? The hell Jack are you trying to pretend you’re Sherlock?”

Jack’s grin could have rivaled the Cheshire Cat’s. “Are you my Watson then?”

Hiccup was not amused as he continued to methodically strip his boyfriend, his manners stiff clearly telling of his medical detachment. “What were you running from?”

“Why do you ask it like that?” Jack asked with a frown before letting out another startled noise as Hiccup reached for his pants. “Oi! I can do it myself Hiccup.”

“Fine.” Hiccup muttered angrily and rolled his eyes before turning away. “So you just happen to be near a butcher shop and somehow had a mishap that left you covered in pig’s blood...”

There was a rustling of clothes and Jack muttered something before the rattling of the shower curt filled the silence. After a few minutes Hiccup turned to look over his shoulder and then hopped up onto the counter while Jack showered.

“Something like that.” Jack finally said. “Ugh I didn’t realize how much I was covered in…damn I’m gonna have to get rid of the clothes.”

“No shit Sherlock.” Hiccup muttered irritably. “Do you realize how worried I was seeing you coming in like that? You’re like a magnet for trouble, you little shit.”

Jack poked his head past the curtain and offered a shit eating grin even as his dirty hair started to stick to his face. “Love you too Watson.”

Hiccup scowled slightly as Jack retreated back behind the curtain to continue trying to wash the blood off. After a few minutes of listening to Jack complain, Hiccup stripped himself and climbed in with him. There was another forever-denied yelp from Jack when he was suddenly joined.

“Shut up cry baby. I’m trying to help you.” Hiccup muttered. “At this rate you’ll have a mishap in here and it’ll be your actual blood going down the drain.”

Jack pouted but handed over the shampoo when requested. He closed his eyes and let Hiccup work the lather into his filthy hair. Sure fingers worked with delicious efficiency and Jack couldn’t help but purr at the attention. He didn’t see Hiccup’s smirk of amusement as he leaned into the taller man’s touch. Soon the pink-red coloring was gone and all that was left was the familiar white was back.

“Better.” Hiccup muttered before turning Jack around to work on methodically cleaning the blood remaining on his back.

Jack sighed. “I feel like a little kid.”

Green eyes flickered over the pale skin curiously, taking absent notes off the few pearly colored scars that he could see. What the hell had happened to Jack? He didn’t comment on Jack’s muttering and after a few minutes he turned him around so the spray would clean off the suds.

“Then stay out of trouble.” Hiccup muttered before pressing a kiss to a damp forehead.

Jack wrinkled his nose. “It’s not like I intentionally get into these situations.”

Hiccup lifted one brow skeptically. “And what was the situation this time?”

Jack shrugged slightly. “It’s not important.”

That seemed to be the only answer he was going to get. Hiccup sighed and gave Jack a cursory glance to make sure he was indeed fine and properly cleaned off. Once he was sure that Jack was fine he reached past him to turn off the water and then stepped out of the shower to find towels.

“Then we’ll just put it behind us.” Hiccup muttered with a frown.

Jack sighed and took the offered towel and started to dry off. “Hiccup, I get that you’re disappointed but it’s really nothing important.”

“Jack, you and all your chaos is always important to me.” Hiccup muttered as he turned to look at Jack.

He reached out and caught Jack by the chin before lifting his head slightly. He offered a small smile and leaned down to press soft kisses against Jack’s lips. There was a moment of hesitation between them and then something snapped between them. Jack suddenly found himself forced against the narrow wall next to the shower, grunting slightly as his back hit the cool but rough texture. His lips were occupied immediately and his hands tangled in damp dark locks. Hiccup’s hands couldn’t seem to stay still as they slid over exposed skin, mapping and memorizing every detail that they crossed.

“Jack…” Hiccup whispered against his lips. “We should move.”

Jack shook his head. “No, I can’t wait that long. Here, now.”

Hiccup chuckled and dropped his head to suck a dark bruise on Jack’s neck. “Here?”

“Gods Hiccup if you stop I’ll kill you and make it look like an accident.” Jack hissed, wiggling slightly at the sensations against his skin.

Hiccup made a small thoughtful sound. “Wouldn’t want that now would we?”


	17. Nautical

****“Wait, seriously?” Hiccup turned to look at Jack as they wandered through the park on a cloudy but dry day. “You’re afraid of water? Like deep water or…?”

Jack’s face scrunched up slightly and he shook his head. “It’s not like that…I’m afraid of water that I can’t see the bottom of.”

Hiccup canted his head to the side curiously. “And that’s why you don’t want to go on this cruise with me?”

“Well yeah I guess.” Jack muttered petulantly, crossing his arms and scowling. “It’s not like ships don’t sink and shit.”

“You’ve been watching too many movies.” Hiccup stated with a small smile, reaching out to link his arm with Jack’s and tug the reluctant man along with him. “And yeah, I know it happens in real life but not as often as you’d like to imagine.”

Jack scowled again. “It happens enough in the news.”

Hiccup shook his head slightly. “So no nautical adventures with me?”

“No.”

“You’re so stubborn.”

“Shut up Hiccup.”

Hiccup hummed slightly but let it drop. Jack seemed really tight lipped about this fear. He’d wait until Jack felt like explaining it to him, he wouldn’t push the younger man. He dropped Jack off near the fountain and stepped over to get two ice creams from the small with the little cart while they waited for Emma to arrive. She’d spent the weekend with Cass and her nephews and a few of her friends at some sort of classic movie party night…thing. He didn’t get all the details when Jack had spat it out into the phone the other day.

“Only two?” Jack asked curiously when he took the vanilla cone handed to him.

Hiccup shrugged. “I’ll get one for Emma when she gets here. Any sooner and it’ll melt.”

Jack hummed and nodded slightly. “Makes sense.”

Hiccup nodded and sat on the edge of the fountain beside Jack, watching the various people that wandered past them. “So, you sure you won’t go on this cruise with me?”

“I’m sure.” Jack muttered, a frown set firmly on his face.

“Just checking.” Hiccup mused. “It won’t be as fun without my first mate there.”

Jack glanced at him with narrowed eyes. “Sorry Captain Haddock, you’ll be steering that one solo. No crazy water adventures for me…I can’t risk leaving Emma alone for too long.”

“She’d shove you out the door at the first mention of it.” Hiccup mused before entertaining himself with his chocolate ice cream.

The white haired man sent silent in thought and then sighed and nodded slightly. “Yeah she probably would…the little traitor.”

Hiccup chuckled and the two fell into an easy and companionable silence. It was nice to just sit and enjoy the world around them. Jack leaned against the nurse and let out a soft sigh. He’d been so tense lately after meeting with Hans and then sort of meeting Drake…really all he did was have a conversation over the phone in the back of a limo with the guy while Hans sat there. Still there was something unsettling about all of this mess. He found himself wishing he’d told Pitch to do his damn job and stop consulting outside of his agents.

“What about water parks?” Hiccup asked suddenly.

Jack didn’t even lift his head from where he was leaning. “What?”

Hiccup glanced down and pressed a kiss to the top of Jack’s head. “Water parks. You know…like…those amusement parks but everything is water.”

“No way in hell.” Jack grunted.

“Seriously?” Hiccup asked surprised. “The self-proclaimed king of fun says no to a water park?”

Jack shook his head slightly as he finished his ice cream. “Too many people, too much water. Now if it were a regular amusement park, I’m all over it.”

Hiccup hummed thoughtfully. “An amusement park on an island?”

“There were four movies why that was a bad idea.” Jack pointed out.

Hiccup’s lift twitched slightly and he started to laugh after a moment longer. Jack grinned from where he leaned against the other man. Soon the laughter stopped and they settled into another comfortable silence until they heard Emma calling them.

“Ja-ack!” her voice was loud and sing-songy as she hurried over. “Jack! Hiccup!”

Jack made a small sound of complaint as he was dislodged from his boyfriend-pillow when Hiccup stood up and waved to Emma. Still he got to his feet and grinned when Emma ran toward them, her overnight backpack bouncing with every step she took. Without even pausing she was to them and then up into Hiccup’s arms.

“Traitor.” Jack muttered petulantly before grinning when Emma leaned over and rubbed her nose against her brother’s. “Better.”

“Did you have a good time?” Hiccup asked with a small smile as he was greeted with a nose-rub as well while Jack moved away to talk to Cass privately.

Emma nodded. “Yes! We watched a bunch of old kung-fu movies! Black and white ones! Some of them, Tadashi had to translate for us. I don’t know how he did it so fast.”

Hiccup grinned. “That’s good. And Tadashi probably watches them a lot and has to do it for Hiro.”

Emma shrugged slightly. “Hiro helped with some of them.”

“Did they have subtitles?” Hiccup asked after a moment.

The little girl shook her head. “Nope! They were on tapes! What did you and Jack do?”

Hiccup stayed silent for a moment before grinning slightly, there was no way in hell he was going to tell her what they did in their free time. “We were pretty boring while you were gone. Didn’t do anything. We decided to be lazy.”

Emma nodded and then turned to look at Jack. “Jack! Jack! I have to watch a movie when we get home.”

He frowned at his sister. “You didn’t watch enough of them at the party?”

“This one is supposed to be really important? Or it’s good? Hiro told me to watch it!” Emma exclaimed with wide eyes as she bounced in Hiccup’s arms.

“What movie?” Jack asked after a moment.

“The Poseidon Adventure.” Emma answered.

There was a long moment of silence before Hiccup started to laugh at the look on Jack’s face, a mixture of irritation and abject horror. Oh poor Emma was so confused.


	18. Orifice

Jack was sitting in the living room watching some ballet performance on the telly while Hiccup was once again sitting at the table in the dining room doing homework. Becoming a doctor was too much work and Jack didn’t envy the other man at all. He was engrossed in the different steps, writing them out for Emma so she could practice them later. She was needing it for some sort of try-out for school. Or something…he couldn’t remember at the moment. Emma was currently at school so Jack was trying to help her as best as he could.

He was startled from his musings by Hiccup suddenly slamming his hands down on the table and standing up. “I don’t care if something is blocking the orifice!”

There was a long drawn out silence as Jack stared over at Hiccup who was glaring at his textbook. “You all right Hiccup?”

“No.” Hiccup growled, the sound sending a shiver down Jack’s spine. Now was not the time to be aroused by his angry boyfriend. “No I’m not all right. If this stupid idiot in this case study didn’t want to block the orifice, then he shouldn’t have fucking put something there that didn’t belong!”

Jack’s lips quirked into a small smile. “Like what? A plug?”

Hiccup leveled him with an unamused glare. “I don’t know; it doesn’t specify in this case. It’s just a random ass example.”

“Random _ass_ example?”

Hiccup groaned. “Why are you so immature sometimes?”

Jack shrugged with another grin. “Why do you sleep with me?”

There was a long bout of silence from Hiccup and Jack grinned again before turning back to the performance, backing it up to where he’d left off. Hiccup moved around in the kitchen, muttering angrily under his breath as he opened and closed cabinet doors. Jack smiled again and then continued to write out things, thanking Hiccup quietly when he set a cup of coffee on the coffee table in front of him. They settled back into silence while Hiccup returned to his own work, the only sound actually coming from the performance on the screen.

A few hours later Jack stood up and dropped his notebook down on the table and headed into the kitchen, dropping a kiss to Hiccup’s head as he passed. Hiccup held up his empty coffee cup and Jack grabbed it then refilled it before passing it back, turning off the k-cup after he did so. There was a long moment of silence while Jack prepped an early light lunch for the two of them.

“Mm, when does your shift start?” Jack asked as he set down the sandwich in front of Hiccup.

Absently the green-eyed man made a motion with his hand. “Not until this evening. I’ve got another 12.”

Jack grimaced. “That’s a bitch. Eat.”

Hiccup pulled himself away enough to eat the lunch and then sighed softly. “I should probably get some sleep before this.”

Jack nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you can crash in my room. You’ve got clothes here anyway…well you’ve got a pair of scrubs at least.”

“Among other things.” Hiccup mused with a grin.

Jack nodded slightly and then accepted the kiss as Hiccup passed him to rinse off his plate and stick in the wash. “I’ll wake you up at 5:00?”

Hiccup hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah, thanks.”

“Plug your phone in this time.” Jack ordered as Hiccup gave him another kiss and then disappeared down the hall into the bedroom.

After he was alone Jack sat on the couch and went over the dance again and again until he was certain he’d gotten all the steps. He wasn’t sure why Emma picked this one, it wasn’t even an actual ballet. It was a routine a woman had made for some dance show. Still, he wasn’t going to fight with the girl. When Emma came home Jack hushed her and immediately sent her to do her homework at the table, watching with a fond smile as she took one look at the textbooks and smiled brightly at her brother.

“Hiccup is here?” she asked.

Jack nodded. “He’s sleeping. He has to work tonight.”

“Does he leave before bed?” she asked as she began pulling out her homework folders.

“Yeah, you can tell him goodbye before he leaves.” Jack murmured as he continued to work at his computer.

The silence fell back over the apartment and once a soft alarm went off did Jack push away from his desk. He motioned for Emma to continue doing her homework, she had a lot to do in order to be ahead enough for the tryouts coming up. He opened the door to the bedroom and grinned at Hiccup who was still sleeping, rather peacefully. He stepped in and crossed to the bed, leaning down to press a kiss to Hiccup’s forehead.

He made a sound of surprise when Hiccup suddenly reached out and grabbed onto his arm. “Hey…you all right?”

Hiccup blinked several times and then nodded. “Yeah, sorry. Had a weird dream…I guess it just startled me.”

Jack nodded absently and kissed him again. “Time to get up.”

He retreated to the living room and soon Hiccup came out, yawning but dressed and ready for work. He bid Emma a good night and gave her a hug before pausing at the front door and turning to look at Jack who stood behind him while Emma hurried off to put her bag away.

“Have a good day at work.” Jack said with a grin, rocking on his feet.

Hiccup’s eyes narrowed and he took the bag offered to him. “This is oddly domestic of you.”

Jack shrugged. “You need to eat while at work. I made a lot of dinner.”

“All right, thanks.” Hiccup leaned down and stole a kiss only for his eyes to narrow again at the wide grin that suddenly appeared on his boyfriend’s face.

“Be sure to keep the patient’s orifices clear.” Jack muttered, laughing at Hiccup’s groan of irritation.

“I’ll get you for that later.” Hiccup stated as he opened the front door.

Jack grinned again. “Promises, promises.”

Hiccup scowled and shut the door behind him as he left.


	19. Puff

“Emma, where is Jack?” Hiccup asked as he stepped into the siblings’ apartment.

She looked up from where she was writing something at the coffee table and then pointed up. “He went to the roof to do something he told me never to do.”

That…didn’t bode well. Hiccup’s eyes narrowed slightly and then he nodded and set down the bags of groceries in the kitchen. He was surprised when Emma offered to put them away but then he realized pretty quickly that she just wanted him to go get Jack. He promised he’d be right back and locked the door behind him then jogged up the stairs to find the wayward big brother. His nose twitched slightly when he reached the door to the roof. Was that…

He opened the door and looked around only to freeze slightly. Jack was there crouched down like a giant blue clad frog on the edge of the building. Instead of standing behind the small lip, Jack was on it looking like he was about to start doing either parkour or turn into Spiderman. That was when he realized the small white spiral of smoke rising from his boyfriend.

“Jack, what are you doing?” he asked quietly, not wanting to startle him into falling.

Jack turned slightly and stared at him for a long moment before taking another drag of the cigarette hanging between his fingers. Well that answered one question. Yes, he did smell nicotine on the steps. After a few minutes of silence Jack stamped out the cancer stick in his hand and stood up, trailing along the edge of the building.

“You want to come down? Or talk about whatever is on your mind?” Hiccup questioned.

Jack turned and watched him for a moment, seemingly unaffected by the edge of the building. Which didn’t honestly surprise Hiccup, he’d seen the guy do a running leap from one to another before. Still there was something on Jack’s mind and he wasn’t keen on sharing it.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” Hiccup commented absently.

“I don’t.” Jack stated with a small face. “Not all the time. Only when I need to clear my head.”

Hiccup sat down further from the edge in hopes to tempt Jack to come to him. He canted his head to the side curiously. “All right. You want to talk about what’s got you up here?”

“No.” Jack muttered immediately.

How was he supposed to explain that he was involved with a major player in the Seattle underground and that things weren’t following the plan. Drake had suddenly changed his mind. He wasn’t going after the bank job he’d been planning. No, Hans had said that they were too close to something else and that it was on hold. Pitch hadn’t been happy and Jack couldn’t help but feel worried. Had they discovered that he was working with an agency? And if they had, could he get Emma out in time…

“Okay, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Hiccup mused. “Emma sent me up here to get you. She said you told her not do something?”

Jack nodded absently. “Told her never to start smoking. I don’t even know how I got started on them…probably Aster. No he’d kill me if he found out…gonna blame James then. Probably was him…the bastard.”

Hiccup said nothing as Jack muttered to himself. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was talking about but he figured it was something from when he was younger. Jack paced back and forth on the ledge of the building muttering to himself before turning suddenly to look at Hiccup and crouching down into that weird Spiderman-frog-thing again. Hiccup absently wondered if Jack was secretly from a circus…maybe he’d been a tightrope walker in his previous life.

“Well, come on, let’s go see Emma and have dinner.” Hiccup offered, standing up and reaching out toward Jack.

“Why are you here?” Jack asked suddenly, watching Hiccup with a strange gaze.

Hiccup lifted an eyebrow. “Why am I here?”

“Us…why are we dating? I mean, I can see why I’m with you but why are you with me?” Jack clarified.

“Hm,” Hiccup fell silent for a long moment as he watched Jack. “I don’t know. It feels right? You’re something refreshing Jack. At first it was okay to be friends but then I just decided I wanted more than that. Is that enough?”

Jack watched him for another long moment and then nodded before hopping down onto the roof in front of him. He reached out and took Hiccup’s hand, tugging him toward the stairs. “Come on, let’s go before Emma starting looking for us.”


	20. Queasy

Jack frowned as he moved down the stairs toward the floor where the apartment was. Something wasn’t right…he couldn’t place it but something made him feel uneasy. Hiccup followed along behind him but the feeling kept building. Finally Jack couldn’t handle it and he darted down the stairs, running toward the apartment. Hiccup made a startled sound and raced after him, calling his name worriedly. Jack’s heart pounded in his head. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong! He jumped down the last few stairs and raced down the short hall toward the door.

“Emma!” Jack yelled as he came to a sudden stop.

The door was open…it had been forced open! No! No no no! He threw open the door and looked around frantically.

“Emma!”

Silence greeted him and immediately Jack tore into the apartment, Hiccup right on his heels. The two immediately began to hunt around for the girl but it was empty. Everything was empty. Jack sank to his knees, shaking in the middle of his sister’s room. Emma was gone.

“Jack…”

He turned slowly when Hiccup called his name and stared, eyes large and wide. There was a note knifed to Emma’s door. Who the hell did these people think they were? Captain Hook? Jack got to his feet and ripped the note from the door, opening it to stare for a long moment.

She’s mine now Drake. I’ll be in touch.

-Bludvist

“Bludvist…” Jack murmured trying to place the name.

Hiccup stood silently for a long moment and then glanced up at Jack. “You should call someone.”

Jack seemed to jerk slightly and bolted from the room, throwing open his own door with a bang. He dove for his closet and pulled out the burn phone to call Pitch. Within minutes Pitch had arrived with a team of people. Hiccup stayed by Jack’s side the entire time, silent as ever. He didn’t ask any questions about who Pitch was or what was going on. He merely observed and offered a hand to hold. A sweep was done of the apartment while Pitch tried to figure out what was going on.

“Drago Bludvist, he’s another crime lord. At least that’s what he calls himself. He and Drake have a big rivalry, have for a while now.” Pitch muttered as he sat on the coffee table in front of Jack once the apartment was cleared. “But I can’t see why he’d take Emma to get at Drake.”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t know. Drake and Emma don’t have any ties, I’m the only thing that even links the two.”

Hiccup stood near the window, staring out over the city. Absently he took note of the darkening clouds. Looked like another Seattle storm was coming. Green eyes tracked the movements of the clouds and then turned slowly to look over his shoulder at Jack.

“Emma must be so scared right now.” Jack whispered. “Gods she must be so scared. What if he hurts her? Pitch if that maniac has done something to Emma…”

“Calm down Jack.” Pitch ordered.

Hiccup crossed the room and pulled Jack’s attention from the suit wearing man. “Jack, focus on me. Jack, focus on me.”

It took several moments before Jack’s eyes lifted to meet Hiccup’s. And there were another several long moments of silence while Hiccup worked to calm Jack down through breathing and focusing. He accepted the sudden lapful of boyfriend and said nothing while Pitch watched the two of them.

“We’ll get her back.” Pitch stated. “Don’t worry Jack, we’ll get her back.”

Green eyes flickered up to Pitch’s face and the dark haired man was surprised by the intensity that burned there. Clearly Hiccup either didn’t believe him or was just being very protective of his boyfriend. It was hard to say but that look was unsettling. He excused himself to step over to the dining room, giving them the illusion of privacy.

“Hiccup, what if they hurt her?” Jack asked quietly. “If they kill her…”

Hiccup kissed the top of Jack’s head while he held onto him tightly. “He won’t, he’s sending a message. There will be more contact before anything happens.”

Jack made a noise but said nothing else. He was in way over his head. How was he supposed to let Drake know that this Bludvist guy had his sister? Did he call Hans? Jack frowned and shook his head. No, no doubt they’d know that Pitch had been to his apartment. His cover was blown, had to be. Had to be. Jack sighed and hid his face in Hiccup’s neck. He just wanted this to be a horrible nightmare. But the queasy feeling lingered and Jack had to resign himself to the fact that this wasn’t a dream.

This was real and Emma was in the hands of a potential madman.


	21. Rain

Rain pelted the city. It had been raining for days, had been since Emma was grabbed from the apartment. Jack paced in circles in the middle of the living room, Hiccup sat watching him silently. Jack had been a mess but that was understandable. He glanced down at his watch and grimaced.

“Jack?”

He shook his head. “Go to work Hiccup. I’m okay. I’ll be here…just…” Jack made a dismissive motion with his hand and when Hiccup hesitated again, blue eyes darted up to the tanned face. “I promise, I’ll be okay. All I can do it wait right now.”

Hiccup sighed and stood up from the couch then moved over and pressed a kiss to Jack’s forehead. “I’ll be back later.”

Silence settled in the apartment save for the steady pounding of rain on the windows. Jack stood still for several moments longer before beginning to pace again. He was going around in circles both physically and mentally. His mind chased itself around over and over. Bludvist thought that he was close to Drake. That wasn’t possible. He’d never met the guy! Unless he had and he didn’t know it yet. A sudden strange ringing made Jack stop and look around. What the hell was that. Finally, he found a strange cellphone and it took a moment to place it. Hans had given it to him!

“Hello?”

“Hello Jack, we need to have a chat.” Hans’ voice rolled over the line. “I’ll be sending a car to pick you up.”

The phone went dead and Jack frowned before jerking himself from his thoughts. He hastily threw some clothes on, changing out of his pajamas finally, and raced down the stairs. He shot a quick text to Pitch that he was meeting with Hans and it wasn’t even five minutes later when a black car rolled to a stop in front of the apartments. There was a moment of pause before Jack slid into the car when a man in a suit opened the door and motioned toward the darkened interior. Hans was sitting there with a small grin on his face as he looked at something on his phone.

“We heard through the grapevine about your sister.” Hans stated as he tucked the phone away into an inner pocket of his coat.

Jack sneered at the redhead. “Yeah, for some reason a psycho grabbed my sister thinking it would bother your boss.”

Hans made a noncommittal noise as he inspected something else in his hand. It was a photograph of the note that had been pinned to the door. Jack didn’t ask, he didn’t want to know. If there were crooked people in the government Jack was safer knowing less and less. The man in the car with him suddenly chuckled.

“Drake. Clever but Drago should really hire better people to write notes. Didn’t even get the spelling right. They bastardized it…like Americans do.” Hans muttered. “At the least they could have written Drache. That’s closer, German at least is in the same continent.” Hans muttered with a shake of his head.

Jack looked over at the man for a long moment. “His name isn’t Drake?”

Hans grinned again and dropped the photo onto the seat across from them. “It might be here in America but it’s not in Europe. They usually call him Drache there, still not correct but closer. You’d think it would be difficult to say Drage.” The man scoffed slightly. “But people refuse to believe that he could be anything other than German, morons the lot of them.”

The trip fell into silence while Jack tried to decipher the new information he’d been given. It hadn’t been a slip, Hans was too good for that, so why was it important for Jack to know that bit? Drake, Drache, and Drage…variations of the same word in different languages. Jack sighed absently. He suddenly found himself wondering why he hadn’t paid more attention to other foreign languages when he was a kid. The building the pulled up to was unassuming, just another building near Elliot Bay leading out to the Puget Sound. Hans climbed out and Jack scrambled after him, stumbling slightly as Hans smoothed down his suit jacket.

“Time for you to meet Mr. Drage.” Hans stated with a smirk over his shoulder. “He’s been anticipating this for a while.”

They stepped through the massive metal doors and took a flight of stairs up to what would be the office of whatever this weird place was. Jack knew they were somewhere near Pier 56 because he could see the Seattle Ferris Wheel…maybe he was actually on 56. The upstairs was filled with a few desks but there was little else, the entire room was empty.

“Wait here Mr. Frost.” Hans stated before turning on his heel and disappearing down the metal stairs.

Jack shifted around and paced back and forth for a minute. Well now, what the hell was he going to do? Was he just going to demand that Drage get his sister back? Would the man even care? No, probably not…Jack sighed and glanced at his watch. He’d been here for nearly thirty minutes later. What the hell! He turned and headed toward the stairs, intent on finding Hans and demanding to know what was going on. He took two steps down and stopped and the familiar blonde standing on the halfway point, a small gun in her hand.

“Now, now Mr. Frost, you were invited to a meeting. You can’t just leave before the host arrives.” she stated with a small grin on her face, motioning back up the stairs with the barrel of the gun. “Let’s go back upstairs.”

Jack moved backwards up the stairs, thankful he’d only gone down two steps. What the hell… ”Astrid.”

She grinned. “I’m flattered you remember me Jack. You were distracted when we met.”

“But…” Jack took another few steps back into the large room. “But you’re Hiccup’s friend.”

“Yes,” a familiar voice drawled behind Jack, causing the white haired man to freeze in place. “Well I did say she’s the person I’d call in the middle of the night and hide a dead body. Handy thing that.”

No, no, no this wasn’t. Jack turned slowly and wished he wasn’t going to see what he already knew would be standing there. His heart hammered loudly in his chest as he took in the man standing there. The suit was dark, tailored to fit and looked expensive, he was adjusting the cuffs in mild disinterest before putting his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

“Hiccup…”

“Hello Jack.”


	22. Answers

Jack sat on a table just a few feet away from Hiccup, Astrid, and a large man who’d been introduced as Eret. There was a lot of information to process…He was dating a crime lord. No, that wasn’t entirely true at all. Hiccup was Drake in America, but the empire that he ran was his mother’s empire. His mother Drage was still in Europe keeping things going and Hiccup had come to America, bringing the name and the family business with him. He’d also gotten onto Astrid for pulling a gun on Jack, and then explained that Jack wasn’t required to stay but if he left he’d be followed for precautions. So Jack found himself sitting on one of the many table or desks or whatever this was.

After some time of quiet discussion, Hiccup came over and leaned against the table with him, keeping a respectable distance between them. “You have questions.”

“Of course.” Jack snorted with a glare. “What’s real?”

Hiccup hummed slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest casually. “What’s real. Well I am a nurse but I’m not really going to school to be a doctor. I needed a good excuse as to why I didn’t have longer shifts at an understaffed clinic. The apartment is real; I use it an as escape from the family house when I feel overwhelmed.”

Jack snorted again and rolled his eyes. “And us?”

“We were real.” Hiccup mused with a small frown of thought. “Though understandably I’m not sure where we stand now.”

“Did you know?” Jack asked, glancing over at Hiccup. “About me and what I did before?”

“Before I hired you?” Hiccup prompted. When Jack nodded he shook his head. “Hadn’t a real clue. No that’s not entirely true, I had some suspicions after you were shot and then I knew after Hans in the café obviously. You’d been recommended to me by someone that I later figured out worked for Pitch Black. I was surprised to see someone from the Government coming and talking to you. That only solidified my suspicions later.”

Jack fidgeted slightly. “Where is he?”

“Whom?”

“The agent.”

Hiccup made a thoughtful noise. “Belize I think. I don’t remember where we shipped him off to. Assigned him to a different job for a while.”

Jack curled one leg close to him while the other hung idly off the table. “This guy…Bludvist, he’s got Emma.”

Hiccup nodded slightly. “I know. I’d been told he was in the country but I didn’t think he’d get to you two before I could move you guys.”

“Move us?” Jack prompted with a frown. “Move us where?”

Here Hiccup seemed almost uncomfortable. “Well, you’ve gotten to be very important to me, the both of you. After the bank I had planned on telling you the truth and then letting you make the decision from there.”

“And if I hadn’t been okay with it?” Jack asked. “If I wasn’t okay with you being who you apparently are? If I can’t accept it?”

“Hmm, it would have been difficult but I would have accepted it.” Hiccup commented with another frown. “To be honest I’m getting bored with America, I’ve been thinking of going back home. Weirdly enough, if you had said yes I would have stayed here longer. No then I would have wrapped up this mess, taken down Drago, and then gone back home. Mother’s been annoyingly insistent that I come back for a while now.”

“You didn’t answer the first question. Move us where?” Jack prompted.

Hiccup pushed himself off the table when Hans came into the room with his phone in hand. The green-eyed man took a few steps from the table and Jack absently thought he wouldn’t get an answer until Hiccup turned to look at him. “With me, back home or to Cuba or something. Anywhere you two would have liked to go.”

Jack wrinkled his nose after Hiccup turned away and returned to the others. After several long moments he was joined by Astrid, tensing slightly when the blonde woman came over.

“Sorry about earlier.” she stated, hands up to show them empty. “I get a little excited when I get to see my wife again.”

“Your wife?” Jack repeated, raising a dark brow.

Astrid sighed and got a dreamy look on her face. “Yeah, my Mer-bear. I’ll see her soon enough. She’s been working with Drago for a while now, so once we’re done with this mess I’ll get to have her back.”

For some reason this surprised Jack. Hiccup had someone inside Drago’s group? “How long has she been there?”

“Hmm a few months now. Since the bastard showed up here of course.” Astrid crossed her arms in a casual manner, canting her head to the side. “She’s on the lookout for the kid right now. Drago trusts her well enough that she can get information from him or others high enough to know where Emma is. Then she’s gonna stick to the kid like glue until she’s safe. Hiccup doesn’t share his things and you and Emma are his family now, so Drago’s made it personal.”

Something warm bloomed in Jack’s chest even though he was sure it shouldn’t. He should be furious at Hiccup. Livid that he’d put Emma in this much danger, but Hiccup hadn’t really been the one to do it. It wasn’t like he’d held up a neon-sign saying ‘I Care’ over the girl. So they’d been watched…

“Astrid, Hiccup tends to stick close doesn’t he?” Jack asked suddenly.

She grinned. “Just now catching that?” She nodded again. “Yeah, Hiccup had quit working at the clinic in order to stay closer to you two. Wanted to keep you guys safe because Drago wasn’t stupid enough to try something while Hiccup was right there.”

“But he did.” Jack protested with a frown. “We were still in the area.”

“You two were four floors up on the roof.” Astrid commented. “We didn’t think that you’d take that long up there. If Hiccup had known how long your conversation would have been he’d have pulled me from what I was doing to watch the apartment.”

Jack blinked several times. “You’ve been watching us?”

“Emma mostly. I follow her around, make sure she gets to school and stuff.” Astrid explained. “Well and to her slumber parties and stuff. I take my job very seriously.”

“Astrid!” Hiccup suddenly barked. “Get over here and look at this damn plan.”

She grinned and breezed away from Jack to stand near the men at the table. They were planning on getting Emma…Jack hopped down and pushed himself between Astrid and Hiccup, leaning partially against the taller man to look down at what they were going over.

“So, what’s the plan?”


	23. Squirt

Hiccup glanced down at his mobile when it chimed and grinned. ‘Found the squirt.’ Merida. He knew he could count on her to get things done. He punched in a quick response before turning to look at the others. It had only been a day since Jack had been told the truth and they were now forcing Drago’s hand. He hadn’t contacted anyone about Emma, clearly he’d been planning on biding time for some reason or another.

“All right, we have a location. One of Drago’s usual places.” Hiccup stated as he took the gun offered to him and checked it with a practiced ease. “Drago shouldn’t be back for some time. I’ll arrange a meeting with him while you two go and get Emma.” He turned to Jack and hesitated for a moment, unsure for once on what to say to the man. “Jack, where you go is up to you.”

Bright blue eyes burned for a moment. “I’m going to my sister. She’ll need a familiar face and I want to see her now.”

Hiccup nodded absently and glanced at Astrid. She held his gaze and then nodded slightly.

“Right then, Jack you’re with me. You good at picking locks?” she prompted.

Jack snorted. “I’m a professional thief, what do you think?”

Astrid grinned slightly. “Okay then Eret, you’re with Hiccup. Hans…do whatever the hell it is you do to get people in touch with other people.”

The redhead made a rude sound before turning back to his trusty phone. There was a long moment of silence before they broke off into different directions, Jack following Astrid down the steps that he’d used coming into the building.

 

xXx

 

Merida sat in silence, holding Emma tightly against her side. She was trying to keep the girl calm and quiet. They couldn’t alert the others that Emma had been found…Drago had too many men in the house and while Merida was trusted, she wasn’t completely above some of these people. Paramilitary freaks that they were.

“Don’ worry Squirt, it’ll be okay. Jus’ a wee bit longer.” Merida murmured as she gathered the girl into her lap. “You’ll be okay.”

Emma gripped the woman’s jacket tightly. “I want Jack…”

The redhead hummed softly. “I know; he’ll be heere soon. An’ then yer gonna go home.”

A vibration in her pocket drew her attention down the small machine in her pocket. It was Astrid. ‘Cover the girl’s ears.’ Immediately Merida pulled Emma closer to her and put the girl between her own body and wall and covered her ears, ordering her to hum as loudly as she could. Merida was silent, watching Emma’s wide eyes, but listening to the world beyond the door where they’d been locked. She could have easily shot the door, shot the lock off Emma’s wrist, gotten them out of the room but she wouldn’t have been able to get them out of the building alone.

Suddenly the door opened behind her and she glanced over her shoulder. It was one of Drago’s men. Her hand reached for her gun but found herself stuck by Emma’s gripping hands. Moments later the man was down anyway and there stood…Jack!

“Jack!” Emma gasped immediately once she caught sight of her brother.

Merida moved as Jack came over and gathered his sister into his arms. He held her tightly, pressed against his chest as she began to cry. A quick move of his hands and Emma was released and scooped up tightly into Jack’s arms.

“Come on kiddo, I’ve got you.” Jack murmured against her hair. “I’ve got you, it’s okay. We’re leaving now.”

The ride back was in a tense silence, Jack holding his sister tightly even as she cried herself to sleep in his arms. He frowned at the unfamiliar surroundings. This wasn’t the city…or at least not a part he was familiar with.

“Where are we going?” he asked, glancing at Astrid.

She glanced at the rearview mirror. “The house. Hiccup asked we bring you guys back until Drago’s…dealt with. Then he’ll have you taken home.”

Jack was silent for a moment. “Where is Hiccup?”

“Probably at tha house.” Merida answered from where she was sleepily lounging next to Jack. “Drago’ll get in touch on his own taime. He thinks he’s got Hiccup in a carner.”

The house, turned out to be a small mansion. Emma had been in awe when they pulled up, looking at Jack curiously. They were greeted by Hiccup in the foyer and Emma ran to him immediately. Jack tensed but didn’t stop her, he’d let her find comfort for now. She didn’t know, wouldn’t understand that Hiccup wasn’t a safe person. But still, his heart tightened when Hiccup easily scooped the girl up into his arms, not caring that he was wrinkling his fancy suit.

Emma giggled, rubbing her nose against Hiccup’s in greeting like she always did. “You look like a prince. Are you a prince Hiccy?”

“No, not really.” Hiccup answered with a small shake of his head. “How are you feeling?”

Emma made a small face. “I think ‘m tired.” Immediately she turned and reached for Jack who crossed over after only a brief moment of hesitation that only Hiccup caught. “But ‘m okay. Happy now…”

“Come on Emma, let’s get you in the bath and then see if we can find something for you to eat then we’ll go sit on the couch.” Jack said, pulling a willing Emma into his arms. “Hiccup?”

He nodded suddenly and motioned for them to follow him. “Follow me, I’ve got a room ready for the both of you. I was going to give you both your own but I figured Emma would need some extra reassurances.”

They stood outside the door to the bathroom, they’d promised Emma they wouldn’t go far, and simply watched each other. There was a tension there, now that Emma had been successfully rescued. Jack needed to tell Pitch but he wasn’t sure how to explain what had happened. Did he tell the truth? Pitch and the agency had been trying to get Drake…Drage…Hiccup for a long time and now, here he was. And where did they stand now anyway? He watched Hiccup for a long moment.

“We’ll continue, as if nothing had happened.” Jack said suddenly. “Until this is done, for Emma’s sake.”

Hiccup seemed to tense and hold his breath then nodded. “Right, for Emma’s sake. We can discuss more later, after Drago’s been…” Hiccup made a vague motion with his hand and Jack didn’t bother to try and figure out what it implied. The less he knew the better.


	24. Traffic

A warehouse. Of course it would be an isolated warehouse in downtown Seattle. Jack frowned at the lack of creativity, peering up at the large building before looking over at Hiccup who was seated next to him. The trip had been in mostly silence, save for a few murmured reminders. Hiccup hadn’t wanted Jack to come with him, hadn’t wanted to put him in any further danger but Jack wanted to look at the man who had dared to send someone after his sister. They were five minutes late. Hiccup seemed unconcerned by this little detail.

Soon they were walking into the warehouse, empty and long forgotten after one-thing or another. Hiccup led the way, hands in his pockets as casual as ever, with Jack right behind him and Astrid only a few steps further back. For whatever reason, Jack was surprised by the sight that greeted them. Drago was a big guy, built like a tree. He looked odd in that suit, it didn’t fit him.

“Drago.” Hiccup greeted as casual as could be.

“You’re late.” Drago growled. “You must not care about the girl.”

Hiccup made a bored sound. “Yeah, sorry about that. Traffic is brutal this time of the day.”

The other man made a sound of anger and disbelief as he glared down at Hiccup and the others with him. “You didn’t follow the rules either. I said to come alone.”

“Hm,” Hiccup glanced behind Drago at the men with him. “And I told you the same. So really, neither of us can be trusted to follow orders.” He let his gaze dart around the old rusty building for a moment and then returned to Drago. “If that’s all Drago, I think this meeting is over.”

He turned sharply on his heel and headed toward the door only to stop at the familiar sound of several guns being drawn. He let out a sigh, glancing toward a wide-eyed Jack, before turning to look at Drago. The man himself held a gun, as did the people he’d brought with him.

“Resorting to this now?” Hiccup asked coolly.

Drago chuckled. “Just a warning Drage.”

Hiccup lifted one brow. “A warning?”

“You can leave now, walk right out of here. I already know you’ve gotten her back; I’ve known for a while now that you would.” Drago stated conversationally. “But they aren’t safe from me. The girl is in danger.”

Jack made a sound and moved to take a step forward but was stopped by Hiccup’s arm when the older man reached out and rested his hand gently against Jack’s chest. “Calm.”

Drago chuckled. “You picked a pretty one this time. Must be the brother.”

Hiccup pulled his own gun and held it up and immediately several little lights landed on Drago and the others with him. Jack blinked several times in surprise. Who the hell? “You see Drago, I brought more people with me than you’d anticipated. And I was going to let this go but now I can’t really do that.”

Jack reached up and gripped Hiccup’s arm. “Let’s go.”

“Jack, I can’t just let this go now.” Hiccup stated, eyes flicking toward Jack. “It doesn’t work that way. A warning won’t make it stop.”

“But…”

A loud sound echoed in the eerie silence and suddenly there was panic and yelling mixed with the sound of gun fire. Hiccup pulled Jack down with him as the two took cover behind old machinery while Astrid hid herself.

“Shit, are you all right?” Hiccup asked the noise continued, sounds of death filling the air.

Jack nodded, eyes wide. He wasn’t okay, not really. Hiccup could see that from where he was. He glanced around the metal machine only to jerk back around. Merida and Eret had Drago and his men pinned down for right now but it wouldn’t last long. They’d realize that there were only the five of them. He needed to get to Drago first.

“Stay here.” Hiccup muttered before moving away from, thrusting a gun into Jack’s hand.

The metal was warm but forgein, Jack didn’t like it. He turned slightly to watch Hiccup slink off to the side before leaning around the machine himself and firing in the direction he’d seen Drago go. More bullets hit the machine around him and Jack winced. Well at least he’d gotten their attention. The next few minutes were filled with yelling and loud bangs and confusion. But then it suddenly stopped. Hiccup had cornered Drago, the two had their guns aimed at each other.

It was a standoff.

Astrid was nowhere to be seen but then Jack heard her upstairs talking urgently to Merida. Had the redhead been hit? Drago’s men were down, all of them save one or two that were in too much pain to do anything. It hadn’t been rifles, something semi-automatic apparently…Jack moved slowly, coming around from his hiding place.

“Hiccup we need to go!” Astrid suddenly yelled. “Pitch is on his way.”

Drago chuckled from where he lay on the floor. “No escape this time Drage.”

Hiccup sneered, his hand moving slightly higher. Jack turned from where Astrid was helping Merida down the stairs with Eret when the sound of another gunshot filled the air. He jerked around to see Hiccup still standing there, he couldn’t see his face from behind but Drago’s eyes were wide in manic glee before he sank down against the blood concrete.

“Hiccup?” Jack asked hesitantly.

The gun fell from Hiccup’s grip and suddenly he crumbled to the ground. Jack bolted over immediately and grabbed onto Hiccup, pulling him into his arms. “Hiccup!”

His mind shut down. Hiccup had been shot. He was hurt and there was so much blood! Absently he was aware of Eret gathering Hiccup into his arms and Merida screaming for Jack to come. Absently Jack grabbed the gun Hiccup had been holding and took two steps backward before turning and running after the others. They had to get out of here!


	25. Universe

Jack would never be able to explain why, during the entire time he sat in the hospital, he kept thinking about William Blake.

_To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower. Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour._

Out of all the things in the entire universe he could have thought about, those two lines kept chasing themselves around and around in his head. They were sitting in the hospital, Astrid, Merida, Eret and himself…Hiccup had gone into surgery and Hans had used some weird lawyer magic to do…something. Merida’s injury had been explained away easily enough and she’d been patched up. But Hiccup…Jack folded his hands in front of his face and stared blankly at nothing though his eyes were trained on some random health ad.

He should have been thinking about anything else, any number of things but no…that one little quote was going in circles in his head. He’d never really cared for William Blake before…so why?

_To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower. Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour._

Why? Why that one thing? Jack tried to make his thoughts turn to something else, he pondered the constellations briefly, then galaxies, dance terms, spiraling universes… but then he’d catch a snippet of a nurse’s conversation with someone else in the waiting room and he turned back to Hiccup and then it ultimately fell back onto that Blake quote. His leg shook with anxious energy as Eret and Hans spoke beside him and Astrid was fussing over Merida further down…Hiccup. That’s why he thought of the quote.

Hiccup had said it to him once. Jack forced himself to think on that, to bring that memory back to the forefront. It took a moment but then it came back to him. They’d been laying in Jack’s room when Hiccup had said it. Emma was somewhere else; they’d had time to be alone with each other. The sex had been incredible and they were just enjoying the bliss afterwards. Jack smiled absently at the memory.

He’d been tucked up against Hiccup’s side, tracing absent patterns on the other man’s chest while Hiccup did the same against his back. And then Hiccup had grabbed Jack’s hand in his own and traced the lines of his palm before saying the words.

“To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower…Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour.” It was said in a soft whisper, as if afraid to speak too loud.

“Hmm, what?”

Hiccup laughed softly. “William Blake…I don’t really know what made me think about it…” He kissed Jack’s forehead, it was closest at the moment, before going back to rubbing his thumb over soft pale skin. “It fits, in a way. Or maybe that’s how I see it.”

Jack frowned slightly, coming back to himself. “See what?”

“You? Us?” Hiccup hummed slightly before bringing Jack’s hand up and pressing soft kisses against his fingertips. “You’re something unattainable.”

“I’m here now.” Jack laughed softly as he rolled to see Hiccup better, his chin resting on Hiccup’s chest.

There had been something in Hiccup’s gaze as he considered the words. “For now…”

Jack was brought back from his memories by Hans suddenly standing up and looking rather panicked. He watched the redhead hurry away from them, phone pressed against his ear.

“Well, that can’t be good.” Astrid stated.

“Why?” Jack prompted, glancing down the line at the blonde.

She gave him a tight smile. “That was Hiccup’s mother calling.”

…oh…

Jack turned back to staring down at his hands. Hiccup’s mother had been the one to build up the family…He didn’t think he’d ever want to meet the woman. He sighed and rubbed his hand over his face before pulling out his phone. He had messages from Pitch, a few from Aster telling him to call Pitch before he murdered the man, one from Emma asking about bubble baths, and one from…Hiccup. He frowned and opened the text he’d gotten from Hiccup.

It had been dated several days ago…before all this mess happened.

_A truth that’s told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent. – WB_

William Blake…Jack frowned slightly and brought his hand up to his mouth, leaning heavily against his palm as he stared at the phone hanging loosely in his hand. Gods where did this put them? Or rather…where did it leave them?


	26. Viscous

This surgery was taking too long. Jack was sure that it should have been done by now. Right? He stood up and winced slightly. He needed to call Pitch. Blue eyes darted between the trio waiting dutifully for Hiccup and he quietly excused himself. He slipped away to stand outside and make the call. His heart beat painfully in his chest and his head. Probably had something to do with the blood that had dried along his temple, he couldn’t remember getting hurt but he had. The nurse had tried to tend to it, tried to clean the viscous liquid but Jack didn’t want to be touched. He’d wait until the cut stopped before stressing about it.

“Jack!”

Jack sighed down into the phone. “Hey Pitch.”

“Where the hell are you? What’s been going on?”

“I went and met with Drago…Emma is safe. Apparently Drake sent some people to get her…felt guilty or something.” Jack muttered with a frown.

“You went and met with Drago? Were you at the warehouse when the fight happened?” Pitch’s voice was tight with some emotion that Jack was too tired to place.

“No, no he was already dead when I got there. But I didn’t want to have this look bad on me. I ran off, I’m at the hospital right now.” Jack stated. “How didn’t you know that?”

Pitch snorted. “The GPS in your phone has been disabled. Why are you in the hospital?”

“Visiting, Hiccup’s been…hurt. I don’t know all the details…wasn’t there.” Jack mumbled, watching Hans from a distance.

“You ever meet with Drake?” Pitch prompted. “Do you know what happened to him?”

Moment of truth…Jack opened and closed his mouth for a few moments before letting out a sigh and rubbing the back of his neck. “No idea, he disappeared. The contact I had said it was off…”

There was a sound down the line. Pitch didn’t say anything and Jack really didn’t want to be pushed. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing, why he was protecting Hiccup…Finally there was a sigh and Pitch bid him a farewell after making an excuse that he was needed for work. Jack didn’t return the salutation and instead tucked his phone into his pocket. He squinted into the dying light as Hans approached.

“So, that was the Queen?” Jack asked conversationally.

Hans made a mild sound of disinterest before nodding. “She’s on her way here.”

Jack nodded slightly. “Yeah, Astrid mentioned something about Hiccup’s mother. What about my sister?”

“She’ll be brought here if you’d like. You should probably clean that up before seeing her.” Hans made a motion toward Jack’s head.

Jack winced slightly and then nodded. “Yeah, can you get her here?”

Hans nodded, whipping out his phone again as Jack disappeared back into the hospital, this time letting a nurse fuss over him. He was cleaned up and a plaster was slapped over the cut on his head. It had been mild, just a small cut. But it was almost an hour later before Emma was dropped off with a man in a suit. She ran to Jack immediately and crawled up into his lap.

“What happened?” she demanded, pulling at her brother’s hoodie.

Jack wrapped his arms around his sister and held onto her tightly, hiding his face in her hair. “I’m sorry Emma.”

The girl held onto her brother with a frown on her face. What was wrong? “Where’s Hiccup?”

Jack sighed. “He’s been hurt. They’re fixing him now.”

“But he’ll be okay right?” Emma prompted, eyes wide and watery. “Because you two have to fix what happened.”

“What?” Jack stared down at his sister, thankful that Eret had herded the two girls off to find something to eat.

“You and Hiccup had a fight right?” Emma suggested. “I saw it; you didn’t hug him at all. It was stiff. And not in the point-your-toes stiff either.” She sighed and leaned against her brother. “It was the same stiff when mum and dad fought. So Hiccup has to get better so you two can fix yourselves.”

Jack sighed again. “It’s not that simple Em.”

She made a sound of disagreement. “Yes it is, because you love each other. And you have to get married.”

Jack closed his eyes tightly, willing the sudden onslaught of tears to go away. He tightened his grip on the small girl in his lap and took a deep shaky breath, using his sister’s innocence to try and reinforce his strength. Absently he found himself wishing it could be that easy. Just forgive and forget…ignore all the trouble that would come. He made a small sound and hid his face in Emma’s hair again, relishing in her small but firm grip on his hoodie.


	27. Whiskey

The crappy hospital coffee wasn’t strong enough to deal with this. No he needed something, anything stronger. Whiskey, scotch, some weird nameless drink that only had the singular purpose to get him completely plastered…anything to fix the weird voices in his head. Emma made a sound next to him and he glanced over at his sister. The girl was curled up across two chairs using Jack’s hoodie as a pillow and Eret’s jacket as a blanket. They’d been at the hospital for a while now. It had been three days since they’d come in, three days since Hiccup had been moved to a different room. Money bought him a nice private room for recovery.

Jack had briefly met Valka, or rather, watched the woman walk past with Hans in tow. She was a stern, severe looking woman…or maybe it was just the circumstances. Jack had lingered back when the woman had arrived and spoke with Merida, who apparently was Hiccup’s second cousin or something, before shooting a look over the redhead’s curls to stare at Jack and then disappear down the hallway to Hiccup’s room. Later that day they’d found out the news, Hiccup was fine but…he wasn’t the same. When Jack had finally been allowed to see him, there had been no recognition in those bright green eyes.

Jack sighed and pulled himself from the thoughts. Emma had been distraught and didn’t understand why Hiccup didn’t know her. Really the girl was still inconsolable but now she’d calm down enough to be told the situation. Apparently something had happened and Hiccup was suffering from some type of amnesia. Jack and Emma were strangers to him, Hans was a business associate of his mother, Astrid was still his best friend but no longer married to Merida, and Eret was a vaguely familiar face. He’d lost the last few years and bits and pieces of other things it seemed.

“Have you gone in to talk to him today?” Astrid asked, setting down on the chair beside him.

Jack scoffed and downed the last of the bitter coffee. “There isn’t really any point is there? He doesn’t even know who I am.”

The blonde made a thoughtful noise. “He asked about you.”

Jack shot her a look out of the corner of his eyes but didn’t do much beyond grunt. Silence fell between them for a long moment before Astrid sighed.

“He was mad that he couldn’t remember the wedding.” Astrid said after a long moment. “He’s getting mad about a lot of things. His mother is in there right now but she’s not really helping him. Or he’s not letting her? Dunno…”

“So what happens now?” Jack asked after a long moment.

Astrid glanced at him for a moment. “Go see him. Hiccup needs reminders, things that are familiar. You should at least go in and see him. He asked about Emma too.”

Jack stood up slowly, his eyes lingering on his sister. “I don’t think I want them to see each other. He doesn’t know us, there was nothing there…nothing at all Astrid. I don’t want to subject her to that again, it’s not fair to Emma.”

“I see your point.” Astrid murmured. “But, you should at least check on him. You told him you were neighbors and friends, so go do the friendly neighbor thing.”

Jack hesitated and watched Emma for a moment longer before offering a small smile when Astrid scooted closer to the girl and Merida suddenly sat down near the child’s head. There was a long moment of still silence before Jack turned away and made his way through the hospital that he was slowly becoming more and more familiar with. They’d gone home a few times, tried to sleep. It hadn’t been very effective. Jack paused outside of Hiccup’s room and knocked softly.

“Come in.” Hiccup called.

Jack braced himself and pushed the door open before offering a small smile at Hiccup when the other man turned his gaze toward him. Hiccup returned the small gesture, it was polite and bit confused.

“Jack, you came to see me again?” Hiccup asked curiously.

Jack shrugged. “Well I just like to loiter around in hospitals and since you’re conveniently here I thought I’d harass you.”

Hiccup’s lips quirked into a larger smile and he nodded. “I don’t mind the harassment.”

“I’ll be back later Hiccup.”

Jack jumped slightly and jerked his head toward the window where Valka stood, watching their interactions with a sharp gaze. He hadn’t even noticed the woman! Hastily he moved aside letting the tall woman pass him. She paused beside him, staring down at Jack for a moment before continuing out of the room, the door shutting with a snap.

“She’s in a cheery mood.” Hiccup muttered petulantly, sounding like a child.

Jack shrugged. “Well she was in another country and you did get hurt. She’s probably just…I dunno worried?”

Hiccup shrugged before motioning to the chair near the bed. “Don’t you usually wear hoodies?”

“Ah, yeah.” Jack paused before taking the seat. He wasn’t sure what to make of that bit of information. “My sister has it right now.”

Hiccup nodded, his brow furrowed. “I thought so…about the hoodies. I get these bits and pieces of…images? Scenes? It’s weird to explain.”

Jack offered a small smile and a nod. “I get it.”

“Hm,” Hiccup flexed his fingers absently before turning his gaze back to Jack. “So, will you tell me about us? I mean, we’re friends right? How did we meet?”

Jack’s heart skipped a beat and for a moment he was certain it stopped as his smile tightened. He was too sober for this conversation…too sober for making up a believable lie. Did he even want to lie about who they were? He shifted slightly and there was something in Hiccup’s gaze that was almost pleading. Yeah, Jack was far too sober to handle this.


	28. Xanax

Jack had frowned when his cellphone pinged…or rather it a quote from Astrid’s favorite movie. Why was she texting him? He glanced at the message and felt his heart seize. Hiccup needed him! Hastily he tugged on his hoodie and pair of trainers before bolting out the door, hastily locking it behind him. Emma was in school so he wasn’t worried about her right now. He raced down the stairs, jumping the last three in his hasty before practically throwing himself into the black car that was pulling up to the curb. No words were exchanged but he’d barely got the door shut before the car took off again. He slowed himself as he hurried through the lobby of the hospital.

It had been a month, a long painful month of explanations and recovery. Some days were good, some were bad. Lately they’d been bad, with Jack looking for legitimate work, he was gone more often than not. It always seemed to happen on days when Jack was gone for long periods of time…Hiccup would have something go wrong. Usually his frustration would get to him and they didn’t want to keep pumping him full of medications to calm him down. It had been a fluke when they discovered that Jack seemed to be able to calm him.

He darted through the halls and slid to a stop in front of the door. He could hear the sound of agitation, Valka’s calm voice ordering Hiccup to calm down. Merida’s lilting tone was muffled followed by Astrid’s harsher tenor. He pushed the door open and darted his way over to the bed where Hiccup had been confined again. He’d suffered a fall earlier so they’d extended his visit to make sure there hadn’t been any additional damage.

“Hiccup!” Jack’s voice cut through the noise and immediately the three females fell silent as the nurse let out a sigh of relief.

Jack crossed the small expanse and reached out to grab onto Hiccup who was struggling to get up. He wasn’t even fully aware of what was going on around him, looking like he was trapped in some weird hallucination again. Jack’s cold hand on Hiccup’s neck slowed him down and he further stilled when that cold hand slid back around to tangle in messy hair at the nap of Hiccup’s neck.

“Hey, Hiccup…it’s okay.” Jack murmured, reaching out his other hand to lock their fingers together. “It’s okay, I’m right here. Just breathe…”

Hiccup blinked rapidly even as he slowly began to calm down. Jack brought their joined hands to his own heart, giving Hiccup something else to focus on while Jack continued to talk soothingly, calmly. He kept himself calm and let Hiccup regulate to him. Subtle fingers flitted around Hiccup’s pulse point on his wrist and he smiled as it began to calm.

“There you go, it’s okay.” Jack said before letting out a small hum. “What happened? You get lost again?”

Hiccup mumbled something as he sank back into the bedding, his eyes closing. The hospitalized young man took several deep breaths, his fingers tapping against Jack’s chest almost restlessly before slowly coming back to the world around him.

Astrid shooed Merida and Valka from the room. Clearly there was something that needed to be said, or done. This was a moment between the two men. They didn’t need to be interfering this time.

“Come on Hiccup, open up. What happened?” Jack asked once he heard the familiar click of the door.

The nurse stayed silent as he checked over things before excusing himself. Jack clearly had this under control.

“Hiccup?”

“Mm,” Hiccup made a sound of acknowledgement but didn’t open his eyes or react for several long moments. His brow knitted in confusion or misunderstanding before he let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know.”

Jack scoffed. “I don’t believe that for a minute.”

There was another long moment, Hiccup didn’t release his grip on Jack and Jack didn’t try to pull away from the older man. They stayed as they were, Jack perched on the edge of Hiccup’s hospital bed with one hand tangled in Hiccup’s hair and the other free and hanging onto Hiccup’s wrist. He didn’t care that there were machines keeping tabs on his heart, Jack wanted to feel it for himself.

“I got lost.” Hiccup mumbled after a few minutes. “I don’t know where I was. I’d been sleeping and there was a warehouse…and I had to find something.”

Blue eyes darted over to the monitor that made little sense to him but he knew enough to watch the line going across the screen. “It’s okay, you’re safe. I’m here and the others are here. It was just an anxiety attack.”

Hiccup laughed a bit. “Does that make you my own brand of Xanax?”

Jack snorted. “That doesn’t even make sense, Xanax is a brand.”

Hiccup opened his eyes and watched Jack’s face for a long moment. The green hues were glassy and hazy with exhaustion. Hiccup had kept pushing himself, trying to force himself to get better faster to get out of the hospital. Jack pulled his hand from Hiccup’s hair to instead brush his thumb over a warm pinked cheek.

“Just rest. I’m here, I’ll stay as long as you need me.” Jack offered with a small smile.

Hiccup made a small face. “Jack…”

“Hm?”

“Were we…” Hiccup yawned and seemed to settle within himself. “…are we…”

“Are we what?” Jack asked quietly.

Hiccup struggled to open his eyes and after a moment they focused on Jack. “Were we more than friends?”

Jack fell silent and still, he hadn’t been expecting that. Not at all. “Ah…”

“Cause I’m stupid if not.” Hiccup mumbled, drifting back to sleep.

“You aren’t stupid…”

A small sound came from the drowsy man before he tried to speak again, his words slurring in his tiredness. “Yer perfect…stupid notta love you…”

The world ground to a stop even as Hiccup drifted to sleep, blissfully unaware of Jack’s inner turmoil, but he didn’t release his grip on Jack’s arm even in his sleep.


	29. Decisions

He was a dead man. Jack was convinced of this as he turned around to find Valka standing behind him. It’d been a few days since Hiccup’s last major attack and things were progressing smoothly. So, why was this woman here?

“Uh, do you want something to drink?” Jack offered lamely, fidgeting with the sleeves of his hoodie. “Water? Coffee?”

She glanced around the apartment with an appraising eye before shaking her head slightly. “No, thank you. I came to speak with you about something specific Mr. Frost.”

Jack shivered. “Uh, Jack please. Mr. Frost is too suffocating.”

The woman inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement and Jack could see just how she became who she was. Even silent Valka was an intimidating woman, he’d hate to see her angry.

“So, uh…” Jack fidgeted again, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. “What did you want to talk about?”

Valka crossed her arms almost casually. “Hiccup’s been cleared to leave the hospital. I’m planning on having him go to Switzerland.”

Jack blinked rapidly. “What? Why?”

She gave him an unamused look. “Because there are no extradition laws in Switzerland. I highly doubt that anything will come back to Hiccup however due to the circumstances of what happened, I’m not taking a chance.”

Jack paused and then nodded slowly. “I see. It’d probably be best then, to get him out of here sooner rather than later.”

“Yes, however that’s an issue.” Valka stated, her tone implied she wasn’t thrilled with what she was about to say. “It seems Hiccup has become dependent on you to keep him together. I’m aware of your relationship with me son, or rather what was your relationship. I’m surprised, Hiccup’s not the type to let people in.”

Jack tensed up slightly. “What are you getting at?”

Valka grinned slightly. “I’m giving you a choice Jack.”

He blinked owlishly at her. “A choice?”

“Hm, yes. You can stay here in this…place…and continue to struggle to find a job with your incomplete education and lacking work skills,” Valka paused for a moment and Jack watched as she seemed to search for the words she was looking for. “Or you can go with Hiccup. I’ll take care of the finances of the move of course. I know that Hiccup would like for you and Emma to go with him, to stay with him.” She made a small motion with her hand. “If you choose to try and rebuild what you had then that’s between the two of you, or you go and just be his friend. Keep him sane while he tries to recover.”

The young man was stunned into silence. This woman was…he frowned slightly and pinched the bridge of his nose. What exactly was she implying? Was he a nanny or being treated like a prostitute? He made a small face and glanced up at her.

“And if I went, what’s to say things won’t go wrong?” Jack prompted with his arms crossed. “I don’t know a thing about Switzerland or taking care of people.”

Valka made that same dismissive motion with her hand. “I’ll have the medical team keep up with Hiccup’s recovery. You’ll be there mostly for his mental state. As for what you’ll probably want to do, I’ve got a few friends who might be able to help you out.”

“I don’t want to get back into that.” Jack stated immediately. “I don’t want to do any shady shit.”

“It’s all legal, what I’m suggesting.” Valka responded with a small snort of amusement. “For now I’d like to keep Hiccup away from the family business until he’s better.”

Jack licked his lips. “How long do I have to think about it?”

She eyed him for a moment. “A week.”

“One week,” Jack repeated more to himself than to the woman watching him. “Fine, I’ll have my answer by then.”

She watched him for a long moment and turned to leave before pausing at the apartment door. “Thank you, for what you’ve done for Hiccup.”

Jack couldn’t think of anything intelligent to say and before he had a chance to kick start his brain, Valka had already left. He stood for a long moment before sinking slowly down onto the couch. This was, unexpected. Highly unexpected. What was he going to do? What did he want to do? Jack rubbed a hand over his face and squinted at the telly for a long moment.

“Stay here, alone and probably working crap jobs…move to a foreign country with a man I’m semi-in-love-with even though he’s a sort-of-kind-of criminal boss…” Jack mumbled to himself.

He stood up and paced around the living room in circles. Would it be good for Emma? Yeah, she’d love to go. She hated it here…Seattle was not a good place. Not always…moving would give them all a chance to start over. But if things went wrong…they were stuck in a foreign country with no way really to get back home. Jack groaned and let himself fall onto the couch, hiding his face in his hands. What did he want? His head said stay here, stay safe but everything else said to go. Take the chance and go, be with Hiccup. But, what did Hiccup think?

Jack sighed. He knew what Hiccup thought. The other man had told him as much during the last visit just the other day. He cared and worried about Jack. The white haired young man pulled out his phone and glanced down at the various text messages he’d been getting since Hiccup had woken up in the hospital with no memories…but those memories were slowly coming back…he’d noticed it the other day. And the last few times he’d been around. Hiccup had said things and done things that were reminiscent of before.

But there were so many lies…Emma came home and Jack was absently aware of her. He didn’t move from the couch for a while, his mind chasing itself in circles. What did he want to do? What should he do? Leave it all behind? Go ahead and do something potentially stupid? He glanced at his sister for a long moment. She’d become so withdrawn lately and he knew it had something to do with Hiccup. It always was.

“Emma, we need to have a talk.” Jack said after a long moment.

She lifted her head curiously and moved over to sit on the coffee table in front of her brother. “Am I in trouble?”

He shook his head. “No, no I think I’m the one in trouble. But, I want to talk to you about some grown-up things.”

A small vibration distracted him for a moment and he pulled out his phone to glance down at the text he’d gotten. It was from Hiccup.

_To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower. Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour._

Hiccup…


	30. Yolk

What, was that smell? Bright blue eyes flew open and Jack sat up quickly, blinking blearily in the early afternoon light that flooded the bedroom. He squinted slightly as he tried to place what he was smelling…There was a heavy sigh from him.

“Hiccup! Are you in the kitchen!”

“Shit!”

Emma was giggling.

Jack tossed back the blankets and yawned before rubbing his hand over his eyes slightly. He pushed himself up and then shuffled down the hall toward the living areas. He rounded the corner and crossed his arms as he took in the sight before him. Hiccup was trying to look innocent, failing with egg yolk in his hair and on the apron he was wearing. Emma had flour and something else smudged on her cheek. She was grinning and giggling.

“What are you two doing?” Jack prompted, wiggling his bare toes on the hardwood floor.

Hiccup shrugged slightly. “Nothing.”

Emma threw him under the bus. “We were trying to make breakfast.”

Jack’s lips twitched slightly and he laughed before shaking his head. “All right you two, get out of the kitchen and leave this to people who can actually cook.”

Hiccup muttered with a scowl as he allowed himself to be pulled from the room by an overly enthusiastic Emma. “I can cook.”

“Microwave meals don’t count.” Jack stated as he moved to clean up the burned remains of…something… “Go take a shower Hiccup, you’re a mess. Emma wipe your face off.”

The two complained but did as ordered, Hiccup disappearing down the hall and Emma getting a napkin to wipe her face off. She lingered around to help Jack before darting off when she heard something on the telly that sounded more interesting. Jack was involved in his cooking that he didn’t notice the presence behind him until two damp arms wrapped around his waist and a nose was pressed against his neck.

“Hiccup.”

“Mm, morning Jack.” Hiccup mumbled against the pale skin. “I didn’t get to give you a proper morning greeting.”

Jack hummed slightly but allowed himself a few minutes to turn away from the breakfast to accept the kiss that was being offered. He laughed against Hiccup’s lips when the taller man tried to corner him against the counter beside the stove.

“Stop, it’ll burn and then I’ll be mad and send you to go shopping while I’m at work.” Jack scolded, pushing Hiccup away from him. “Now go sit with Emma. She’s been wanting you to watch the performance with her again.”

Hiccup stole another kiss before stepping away and doing as ordered. They’d gotten a recording of the show that Emma had been in and she had yet to see it, having decided to wait for Hiccup to have a chance to sit with her. Jack smiled when he heard the enthusiastic greeting from his sister and the lower rumbling tone from Hiccup’s response.

Jack hummed slightly and smiled as he cracked eggs open with one hand while dealing with the pancakes at the same time. He glanced over his shoulder toward the living room where the two were sitting on the couch watching the performance and he couldn’t help but smile. This was nice…it had taken nearly a year before they had managed to settle into this routine. His relationship with Hiccup had been rocky, they’d patched up some things and other things were purposely left in the dark. Hiccup managed to get back most of the memories, large gaps seemed to be ones involved with the family business and the rather bloody ways he had to take care of Jack. The therapist had made a comment about selective suppression. Jack hadn’t really cared, the woman kept making Hiccup uncomfortable and Jack had told Valka that they’d be needing a new therapist after that visit.

He finished up breakfast and then decided that they could eat in the living room this time. He settled down on the couch against Hiccup after passing out the plates and getting his own, fitting snugly against the taller man’s side. Emma had gotten much better and she seemed to benefit from watching her performances. They were fortunate she’d gotten back into dance after the move, it was a good way for her to cope.

“What time do you have to go to the studio?” Hiccup asked quietly.

Jack wrinkled his nose thoughtfully. “Mm, around one. You want to come? There won’t be much to do but I know you don’t like to stay here alone. It’s a long day today since we’re getting ready for the spring performance coming up.”

Hiccup nodded absently. “Yeah, I’ll come.”

“Do you want me to stay? I can have Elin take over…” Jack turned to gauge Hiccup’s reaction and moods for a moment.

He shook his head and offered a small smile. “No, I’ve kept you from the kids long enough. They’ll start a revolt if I don’t return their teacher to them.”

Jack smiled and winked. “I’m a favorite.”

“Jack are we going to the studio?” Emma asked suddenly, turning to look at the two.

Jack nodded absently. “Yeah, you can tag along.”

Emma grinned and nodded before putting her plate on the coffee table and snuggling into Hiccup’s other side while they watched the rest of the ballet.

“I’ve got the dishes, go get ready.” Hiccup suggested, nudging Jack with his elbow.

Jack nodded and slid from the couch then made his way down the hall back to the bedroom to gather up what he needed. He hopped in the shower and was soon was going over the contents of his duffle, making a mental checklist of what he’d need for the kids today. He smiled when he felt Hiccup come up behind him.

“Something on your mind?” he prompted, accepting Hiccup’s weight against his back. It was one of his favorite ways to hold Jack.

Hiccup hummed absently. “I’m just glad you got to get back into dance. You’re a good teacher and the kids adore you.”

Jack grinned slightly and looked over his shoulder at Hiccup. “Wouldn’t have gotten to go back to it without you.”

“Guys stop being gross! Let’s get going!” Emma called from the living room, not caring that she was interrupting a moment between the two men.


	31. Zit

“Uh, Jack…Em is having some…I don’t know what she’s doing.”

Jack looked up from where he was going over the various notes he’d written for himself for the performance. Hiccup had a peculiar look on his face and it made Jack worried. What was wrong with Emma?

“Where is she?” he asked.

Hiccup motioned toward the backstage. “Makeup room.”

Jack sighed and nodded before pushing himself up from the stage floor where he’d been sitting. They were going over the last of the dress rehearsals, the performance was tomorrow, what could Emma possibly be stressing about?

“Hi Jack!” Violet greeted the teacher from where she was stretching with her partner.

Jack waved absently and nodded a smile in her direction before weaving his way through the mass of people prepping and getting ready. He knocked twice before poking his head into the makeup room where various people were going over the final makeup decisions in front of various vanities.

“Emma?”

“Jack!” she whined. “It’s horrible!”

Immediately he moved into the room, nodding to a few of the other girls that were prepping their makeup. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to the costume.”

“No!” Emma barked before pointing at her face. “Look! It’s horrible.”

Jack passed a critical eye over his sister’s face and frowned. He didn’t see anything wrong. “What are you on about?”

“You can’t see it!” She waved her arms around frantically.

The man was more interested in his sister’s dramatics than the movement of his dancers. The others were slipping from the room quickly; Emma was a rather good distraction when it came to her brother. She pointed again at her face and Jack leaned closer to her.

“What am I looking for?” Jack asked.

Emma glared. “The zit!”

Jack closed his eyes and counted to ten before looking at his sister again. “Em, there is nothing there. I don’t see anything.”

She made a sound of disbelief before turning back to the mirror and getting close to the reflective glass. “Oh…guess I was wrong. Sorry. Crisis averted.”

“A zit isn’t a crisis.” Jack deadpanned before glancing down at his clipboard again, rolling his eyes. “Come on, hurry up Emma. We’ve got a full rehearsal.”

She grinned at him and suddenly Jack had a feeling of impending doom. Without warning his sister grabbed his wrist and dragged him from the room, pulling him toward the stage. Jack frowned at the suddenly deserted backstage. Where had everyone gone? He had his answer soon enough when he realized everyone was gathered in a semi-circle on the stage.

“What’s going on?” Jack asked as Emma continued to pull him toward center.

Hiccup shrugged slightly before crossing the stage to stand in front of Jack, drawing the man’s attention immediately. Blue eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“What did you break?” he asked immediately.

Hiccup laughed. “Jack, you’re the one who breaks things.”

Jack hummed his rather reluctant acceptance of the fact before turning to look at the various teenagers and young adults gathered. What…what was going on? Emma’s grin was too wide to be comforting. Shuffling of fabric drew Jack’s attention back to Hiccup again. And then he was looking down because Hiccup was down on one knee…oh gods!

Hiccup offered him a crooked smile. “I’m not really good with speeches. Pants at them actually but, you’re always the first one. You’ve been there and seen me at my darkest…as far as I know…” Jack tried not to laugh and crossed his arms slightly as if to contain himself. “I want forever with you Jack. Marry me?”

Immediately Jack’s gaze dropped down the small ring box in Hiccup’s hand. Nestled in blue velvet was a small silver ring with three simple stones imbedded into the band, a sapphire, diamond and emerald in a row. He licked his lips and laughed a bit before nodding.

“Of course you idiot!” Jack said, his voice shaky and probably a bit pitchy.

Cheers erupted around them as Hiccup slid the ring on Jack’s finger before standing and pulling him into a tight hug. Jack pulled back for a moment to look at the others.

“Were you all in on this?” he demanded, though the stern attempt was thwarted by the grin on his face.

Murmurs of agreement were heard amongst everyone and Jack laughed before looking back to Hiccup. He was given a blinding smile from the taller man before Jack pulled him down into a kiss that made the cheers sound louder than before.


End file.
